AUG 12 (Day 1)

Daniel 6: A distinguished faith

There are some Bible stories that we have been tricked into believing are just children’s stories.

And If you have been in church for any stretch you know the story of Daniel.

Daniel is a faithful Jew who was exiled to Babylon and now serves the kings of Babylon

Daniel started his story strong, He didn’t defile himself with food from the kings table.

Daniel showed how powerful his God was and he was around when Babylon was invaded by the Persians

Daniel 6:1–3 NIV

It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

One of the reasons why I want to focus on Daniel is that

When King Darius took over, Daniel would have been 75-80 years old. 

Today at 75-80 you’re retired, your living the good life…

Daniel was an elderly statesman at this point…And he had lead a life of continually overcoming obstacles…Almost all of his adult life was in captivity serving pagan kings and he had remained faithful to his God the whole time…

So what the king wanted to do was to give Daniel this high position of  power and authority over all of the other officials in the kingdom so that he would “suffer no loss”

What that meant was that Darius at least knew that he was a new king and he needed someone from the old regime that was honest to help out…

Why? 

Well the new king doesn't know the assets of Babylon yet…He just conquered…so someone who wasn't honest could hide grain reserves or fudge the numbers on the royal flocks…They could have been selling off Babylon’s assets and pocketing the money…

And it was widely recognized that the spirit of God was in Daniel

In verse 3 it tells us that Daniel was distinguished:

Now this is no secret to us…We saw Daniel as a young man and he always put his allegiance to God over his allegiance to the king…This is what we call faithfulness to God. 

But see he was distinguished above all others  

And if you remember back to Daniel Chapter 1, Daniel resolved not to defile himself…. that he set his trajectory in life…

But see Daniel set himself up for a lifetime of going against the cultural grain

Tomorrow Jim D. Will give us a look at what it means to be a distinguished person in Christ so that is what tomorrow will be all about…

Daniel 6:4–5 NIV

At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

Even Daniel’s enemies…couldn't find fault in him…I mean come on…we could probably get together and find fault in just about anyone…

But Daniel lived his life in such a way that was above reproach…He was blameless..

People had no reason to accuse him of anything.  So they had to make something up!

See they knew he was a very religious man…so if they could just look at his religion and find a way for it to conflict with the laws of Babylon then they would be set…

Daniel 6:6–9 NIV

So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” So King Darius put the decree in writing.

Ok so these people were obviously lying to the king right…because they presented this law to the king…O King…Here is this new law and guess what, all your high officials they all agree

It was a unanimous decision…By the way…very few times have I ever really believe that in a group of this size that anything is ever unanimous…

Obviously they didn't take this law to Daniel..>Don't you think he would have objected? 

So think about this:  if you are ever in the place of decision making there are two ways that people will try to deceive you other than flat out lying 

Deceived by flattery: This injunction basically made the king divine…The king was in a tough place because his advisors were like, O King…Sign this document.  Be ware of people flattering you to get you to do what they want…

Deceived by the perception of unanimity:  I am always very wary of when people say something was unanimous, because I feel like what they are really saying is, you have to go along with this too and don't question it…Some things truly are unanimous and I get that, but if you’re ever in a position where your voice counts be very wary of people telling you, oh come my direction its everyone else is doing it…it's a way of manipulation…

So this is how these other advisers deceived the king…The left Daniel out of the loop…They flattered the king! 

Let’s keep reading:

Daniel 6:10–13 NIV

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?” The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.”

See how we had talked about before about the trajectory that Daniel was on…

I think this message had tremendous application to those of you who have retired and beyond…

It would have been easy for Daniel to say…Hey I’ve prayed 3x a day for 80 years, what’s 30 days of taking a break…I’ve paid my dues, put my time in…

But see if you have been a Christian for your whole life, do you know what young Christians need to see?  We need to see you finish well!

See what I know by experience is that God can keep me through my teenage years…

I know through experience that God has been with me early in my marriage…

I know through experience That God is with me leading my family of 5 now…Raising kids…

But what I can not know through experience but only though those of you who were born before me is that God will finish the good work that he started in my life…

We have a church of young families and they need to See that through your life…

You build Legacy at REC not only directly though what you are doing but through osmosis…Through young families seeing your faithfulness…You are the ones they look at and say see it is possible to run the race and run it well

That matters in any church…Because us younger people only have so much experience, and now we need to look to you!  

We need to see God finish all that he started in you..>We need to see you pressing on!

In the 1924 Paris Olympics there was a great Christian man who won the Olympic gold in the 400meters sprint named Eric Liddell

When he was asked about the secret to his success he said this:

“The secret of my success over the 400m is that I run the first 200m as fast as I can. Then, for the second 200m, with God’s help I run faster.”

-Eric Liddell

After his winning race in 1924 the newspapers said that it was in the last 50m that the race was decided

Obviously if you are here you are a bit more mature in years….

Every time you are tempted to believe that have run your race, you’ve finished your course, you have made your contribution, you’re done….

It just is not true! 

You might think that no one is paying attention to you but we are!

Its not always true, but it should be so that the church is a place where we honor wisdom and old age….

History is littered with men and women who started out strong, but who somewhere along the line, faltered, crashed and burned…Few people truly finish well

Daniel was a man who in his last 50 meters was running strong…

Ok let’s back to the story

So we know that Daniel was praying as he always did 3 times a day near an open window pointing to Jerusalem

But either way, these men didn't just happen to find Daniel praying in open rebellion to the king…He was in private praying as was his normal custom

Daniel 6:14–18 NIV

When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him. Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.” 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 serve continually, rescue you!” A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.

Whenever I read this story I used to think, Ok honestly, why does anyone have a den of lions that they keep? 

Is this guy doctor evil…Does he have sharks with lasers on their heads too? 

But as it turns out, Lions were very important to Babylon, The kings would let them loose and hunt them and when they eventually killed this lion that we kept in captivity…their fame would increase…

So no one ate that night…The king didn't eat, Daniel didn't eat…and the lions didn't eat…It was a rough and tense night

Look at what the king tells Daniel: 

May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”

See because Daniel is a distinguished man before God…Because he has this habit of honoring the Lord in everything that he does…

A pagan king basically prayed…and was seriously affected by this elderly man’s faith…

This own king…why by the way, signed an injunction that he was partially divine was now wishing that Yahweh  would save him…Because his hands were tied…

Daniel 6:19–28 NIV

At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 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?” Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! 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.” The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones. Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth: “May you prosper greatly! “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. “For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

What amazes me is that King Darius preaches about Jesus hundreds of years before Jesus would ever walk the earth

Jesus is the living God, he set up a new kingdom that will never be destroyed…

Jesus was innocent and sent to the cross just like Daniel was innocent and sent to the lions den,

But the major twist was that it was through the cross that Jesus did the rescuing.  

He delivers and rescues through the power of what was done on the cross…

So this king…Ends up killing Daniel’s accusers…and praising Daniel’s God..

And it’s just amazing to me…

He made a decree that everyone should tremble before Daniel’s God…

Then he wrote a psalm that is comparable to David’s Psalms… praising Daniel’s God

The God who is alive, who endures forever

The God with all dominion and power over the whole earth

The God who rescues and saves

And I have to believe that King Darius is transformed a little because of the faithfulness of a guy who was running his race as hard as he could..

So as we wrap up this message…

You are in a season of life where it might feel like, you have done all that you can do.

Maybe you have experienced discouragement and have thought something like, My best days are behind me. Time to hand up my hat…

Daniel didn’t do that!

You might not see it, but the mere act of your faithfulness to Jesus is impacting a church community!

Are you doing all that God is leading you to do?

Don't slow down now….The last 50 meters are crucial

Let’s pray