A Long Steady Obedience

Let’s take a moment of silence this morning as we remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice of laying down their lives in service for our country.

We also want to remember the families who are/were adversely affected by their sacrifice.

Let us take a moment of silence.

Introduction

We are three weeks into our series, “Longing for a Savior”.

We are looking at how in the Old Testament, the Jewish Scriptures, they were longing for a Savior. They called Him the messiah, He was going to save the people from their sin, they were looking for God to do what He said He was going to do.

They found themselves so often at the mercy of the empires around them, the culture invading their lives, and corruption from within that would lead them astray. God in His love and mercy would purify them, correct them, and continually send them prophets that would call them to faithfulness.

In fact a lot of what they would suffer is from kingdoms that have rejected God and therefore have inflicted harm on others. When kingdoms of man take it upon themselves to determine what is good, right, beautiful, and true apart from God, chaos ensues.

We have a lot of parallels to the ANE follower of YHWH… it’s not the same, because Christ has come, Messiah has been revealed, come, lived, died, rose from the dead, ascended and is coming again.

While He has inaugurated His Kingdom, it is not fully consummated.

We find ourselves in Exile. We find ourselves longing to be home…

Philippians 3:20 “Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

My hope for this series is that we will allow this longing to rise up within us, give us permission to feel the weight of the brokenness of this world, in light of Jesus returning. That whatever we are facing today that we look through the lens of the inevitable return of Christ.

The next few weeks we are looking at the book of Daniel. How is this that they are longing for a Savior.

They’ve rebelled. God sends Nebuchadnezzer to take them into exile (605 B.C.)

Nebuchadnezzer brought them to Babylon.

In chapter 6 we see that Belteshazzar has been overthrown and the Medo-Persian empire is in full swing. (show map from TTCS commentary/Dan 6)

Daniel was more than 80 years old at this time (539 B.C.); he was about 16 when he was taken captive 66 years earlier (605 B.C.).

‘As we now have these stories … they are intended by the author of the book to illustrate the qualities of loyalty and endurance which the crisis of the second century B.C. called for.’

Church, we are in Exile… This is not our home, God will bring us unto Himself and eventually will establish His kingdom here on Earth. What we are going to see again this morning is that through out this book, it is not essentially about Daniel, but rather about God. It is a revelation of who he is and how he acts for our redemption. It’s to point us to God.

In this life we will have difficulty… the risk of following Jesus will cost us something.

To give our life to Jesus is the most risky thing we could ever do… because where he’ll lead us, what he’ll ask us to do is bonkers… (love your enemy, do good to those that don’t like/hate you, lay down your life for others)… but church there is no other journey that is more filled with hope, with love, and a fulfillment that nothing else can bring.

The life in Jesus cost something from us. This is not new… Jesus would tell those that would follow Him, deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow him. (Luke 9:23-25)

We’re going to see that in our text today… we’re in Daniel 6… but if you have been with us… you’ll see a repeating theme in Daniel 1, Daniel 3, and now in Daniel 6.

In each of these chapters, the Daniel and his three friends were tempted to compromise, tended to go the way that will benefit them (from our perspective), but they chose YHWH over all things.

Chp1- all four

Chp3- the three friends

Chp6- Daniel...

In each of these situations, the authority recognizes God as the ultimate to be worshiped.

Main Point: God may allow those who remain faithful to him and his word to experience jealous opposition from unbelievers in a hostile environment .The living God is able to rescue his faithful servants and thereby reveal his person and kingdom to a needy world.

Pierce, R. W. (2015). Daniel (M. L. Strauss & J. H. Walton, Eds.; p. 116). Baker Books.

If you are able and willing, would you stand with me as I read our text this morning. Daniel 6.

English Standard Version (Chapter 6)

It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps (satrap in Persian/Aramaic = “protector of the kingdom/kingship”), to be throughout the whole kingdom; 2 and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

6 Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! 7 All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.

10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. 11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God.

... 13 Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. 15 Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”

16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” 17 And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

19 Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den.

So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24 And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

25 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you. 26 I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,for he is the living God,enduring forever;his kingdom shall never be destroyed,and his dominion shall be to the end.27  He delivers and rescues;he works signs and wondersin heaven and on earth,he who has saved Danielfrom the power of the lions.”28 So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

This is the word of the Lord… let us pray. Amen. You may be seated.

ME

God does some of his best work in us when we are empty, when we’ve got nothing left. It creates a vessel for Him to fill us completely to overflowing.

When I find myself in circumstances that are completely out of my control, there is a peace and assurance that “Jesus take the wheel”. There’s nothing I can do and therefore I am at His mercy.

2020 was like that for most people in vocational ministry.

CoVID19- mask, no mask, vaccines, no vaccines… we had one local church that was looking to punish church members (church discipline) for abiding by government regulations.

Racial conversations… conversations and opinions around George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery … a local church had an exodus of first responders and law enforcement because they acknowledged the racial disparities happening in the country as a whole.

Then the political conversation… are you Red Team or are you Blue Team… and how everyone on every side kept justifying the actions of their own party despite their anti-Jesus positions and actions.

This is a small snippet to what pastors, church leaders, and probably many of you felt in your own families.

Not to mention how to then become homeschool teachers to your children as they would have almost two years of no in person school but primarily home and going online (if they went)

There is a heaviness, a weight, and there is nothing that I can really do about it. There are some hard things that are invading my sphere of life, and in a very real sense I can do nothing to resolve it.

All the while, I’m asking, “Jesus, how are you using this? Where are you in this? How am I to respond in all of this?”

I want to be faithful to Jesus (first and foremost… allegiant to Him, and then how do I share/live out the good news before others?)

Stress and anxiety can kick in.

A friend of mine who is a pastor, recently confided in me that if we go through another political season we did recently, he’s like “I’m out… I’m done… I’m not going through that again… I don’t want to be associated with that”.

It’s real. It’s potent… it’s what happens when things out of our control, force us, thrust us into situations that are over our head and that we seemingly are at the mercy of.

It’s in these times that I’m tested as to what I really believe. What I believe to be true about God, what I believe to be true about me. How do I cope? Are my coping mechanisms healthy, unhealthy, what or who do I turn to? There is a real tension.

WE

How about you? When you feel overwhelmed, what does that cause you to do?

It’s in these times that we have to understand:

Who is God?

What is our calling?

How are we to live in such a way that the effects and the truth of the gospel (and it’s implications) play out in my life (as a witness)

Yesterday had a random encounter with an acquaintance. We got to talking… they shared that homeschooling was not an option anymore for them, but they were concerned about other options like public schooling or private education… their concern (as I understood it) was could they keep their child unstained from the world and its ideologies

I responded… well they are going to have to deal with it sometime… yes? Either now (while they are in your home) or later (when they are away from you). I got a little push back. “well not necessarily” they said.

I responded… well it doesn’t help to remove them from culture… we’re in it… you deal with worldly stuff, I deal with it.. they are going to … it’s not as important that we fight the culture war (opposing everything all the time)… the call we have, in following Jesus, is to create more culture (gospel informed) and let people taste and see that God is good… that’s the attractional piece… that as we live our lives, inviting people into it (as Jesus forms and speaks into our lives), a new culture, a better culture, a good culture, a desirable culture is formed and people can’t get enough… they want more.

The U.S. is facing an epidemic of loneliness and isolation, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, said in a press release on May 3.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the statement said, about half of American adults reported feeling lonely. And this isn't simply a recipe for unhappiness—loneliness makes a person more likely to develop mental health issues, and it can increase the risk for premature death by more than 60%.

”Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation has been an under-appreciated public health crisis,” Dr. Murthy said in the press release.

For all the reasons that Pastor Josh spoke of last week (watch the sermon!! He was LIT!! NO DRIP!) we have an opportunity before us.

GOD

God’s word has something to say about this…

Daniel 6:1–28 is woven into the book’s overall literary structure in two ways.

First, it advances the narrative of chapters 1–6, in which the first four focus on Nebuchadnezzar (chaps. 1–2 with historical markers and 3–4 without) and the last two show the transition from Belshazzar of Babylon to Darius the Mede (chaps. 5–6).

Second, it completes the second of three parallel pairs of chapters (3 and 6) in the book’s concentric, Aramaic center section. Taken alone, 6:1–28 reflects a concentric structure with four pairs.

A Daniel succeeds in the kingdom (6:1–3).

B Darius signs his first decree (6:4–9). (believing the press… “yes, I’m like God”)

C Daniel’s accusers plan his death (6:10–15).

D Darius hopes for Daniel’s deliverance by God (6:16–18).

D′ Darius witnesses Daniel’s deliverance by God (6:19–23).

C′ Daniel’s accusers encounter their deaths (6:24).

B′ Darius signs his second decree (6:25–27).

A′ Daniel succeeds in the kingdom (6:28).

Against this backdrop, 6:1–9 recalls the previous accusations brought against Daniel’s three Jewish friends and, at the same time, lays a foundation for his own crisis and deliverance to follow.

Pierce, R. W. (2015). Daniel (M. L. Strauss & J. H. Walton, Eds.; p. 104). Baker Books.

Three qualities of God’s person dominate 6:19–28, the dramatic climax to this narrative. First, the living God is able to rescue and reward those who are trustworthy in their lives as witnesses in their world. Second, God is worthy of longtime, faithful service that goes beyond prayer to practice and sacrifice. Third, the living God alone endures forever as sovereign over his never-ending kingdom.

Pierce, R. W. (2015). Daniel (M. L. Strauss & J. H. Walton, Eds.; p. 119). Baker Books.

Daniel (Teaching the Text)

1. The living God is able to rescue. Daniel’s God is the only living God, in sharp contrast to the dead, false gods of the Median and Persian belief systems. Because of this quality, God is able to rescue faithful servants from impossible circumstances under powerful rulers. When preaching this familiar story, focus on God’s ability to deliver, without presuming his intention to do so in every circumstance of our lives. Also, this narrative includes more information about Daniel’s faithfulness than any other passage in his book. Without heroizing this elderly Judean exile, call your listeners to “trust” God, to serve God “continually,” to be found “innocent” before God and other persons, if they wish to know God’s blessing in their lives. Although Daniel is not presented as a model to emulate, he does serve as an example of how God is able to reward and rescue the righteous.

When in Babylon, God desires faithfulness… when in Baal land, we worship YHWH. (we see a metaphorical picture of the Hebrew people)

Jesus is the greater and better Daniel… while Daniel was saved and God using him for His purposes (as we’ll see in later chapters)… Jesus was betrayed by those who should have known Him and believed on Him for who He is, but yet died on the cross SO THAT you and I could be saved and have life!!!

2. Worship goes beyond words. Realizing anew God’s worthiness can revolutionize our “worship” of God in our homes, churches, and societies. Although outward practice is the right place to end, it is not where we begin. Encourage your listeners to engage in a disciplined journey to know more intimately the God who calls us to serve him. Call your audience to search the Scriptures to know all they can about God and to search their hearts to know him better personally. Worship flows out of this kind of spiritual experience and relationship. Remind them that worship demonstrates in our lives that God is worthy and therefore extends beyond songs, prayers, and sermons to godly lives lived as a witness to God’s person.Even King Darius recognizes that God is able to deliver the righteous when he declares that God “has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions” (6:27).

It’s this culture that we can create and invite others into that they might taste and see that God is good.

Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy (blessed) is the person who takes refuge in him!”

Daniel was shielded by the power of God through faith (Heb. 11:33b; 1 Pet. 1:5), not from danger but in danger. To the king’s astonishment and relief, angelic intervention preserved Daniel, God’s witness (cf. v 22; Ps. 91:9–16). By faith (23) he had experienced the powers of the age to come (Heb. 6:5) in which lions are tamed (Is. 11:7). Like all OT miracles, this one is a foretaste of the great miracle of the resurrection of Christ (cf. v 17 with Mt. 27:60–66), which itself points to the final resurrection and restoration (1 Cor. 15:20–28; cf. Ps. 2:4–8). In an apparently ‘closed universe’ (17), God had demonstrated that he cannot be excluded; if believers make their bed in the depths, he is there (Ps. 139:8)! As a result, Daniel’s protection and deliverance, like that of his three friends, was complete (23b; cf. 3:27 and, later, Jn. 19:31–36).

Ferguson, S. B. (1994). Daniel. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 755). Inter-Varsity Press.

3. God’s character and work reflect his enduring kingdom. Like Daniel, we are servants of the ever-living God in the redemptive act of establishing his never-ending kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven.” From his youth, Daniel recognizes that his loyalties are to his God and not to the rulers under whom he lives (1:8). Moreover, God reveals to him that God’s kingdom replaces all earthly kingdoms (2:44). Encourage your listeners to keep in sharp focus God’s purpose and kingdom purposes. In doing so, exhort them to hold loosely their allegiances to political agendas of this transient world and to think first of their citizenship in God’s kingdom. We should be about His Kingdom, not building our own.

Main Point: God may allow those who remain faithful to him and his word to experience jealous opposition from unbelievers in a hostile environment .The living God is able to rescue his faithful servants and thereby reveal his person and kingdom to a needy world.

At the end of the chapter, we again see a king making a declaration that YHWH is the God above all their gods… He is in fact living.

YOU

In the midst of our journey with Jesus… it can sometimes feel like this...

Graphic of us alone and God where are you?

But in reality it is this.

God is able to rescue you from impossible circumstances because Jesus already has… delivering us from the bondage of sin, humanities greatest enemy (sin and the devil), God is able.

Worship flows from knowing God more intimately. You can stand with the lions when you know in whom you have believed.

Your life is a witness to the goodness and truth of God in the midst of difficulty. In this world, we’ll have hardship… but we take heart because Jesus has overcome the world. Our lives become like those that testify to the power of the resurrection.

By following and listening, being obedient to Jesus, we see the Kingdom of Heaven come (the lions mouths were stopped)

Lion laying down with the calf (Isaiah 11 and 65)

Satan prowling like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour… his mouth shut (1 Peter 5:8)

The lion from the tribe of Judah prevailing

US

Main Point: God may allow those who remain faithful to him and his word to experience jealous opposition from unbelievers in a hostile environment .The living God is able to rescue his faithful servants and thereby reveal his person and kingdom to a needy world.

May we like the apostle Paul proclaim, 2 Timothy 4:17 “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that I might fully preach the word and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.”