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Unshakable: Standing Strong for God
June 9, 2019
Introduction
Today concludes our series “Unshakable.”
In this series, we have been looking at the book of Daniel.
Today, we come to chapter 6 and one of the most famous stories in all the Bible: Daniel and the Lions Den.
Our last sermon from Daniel came from chapter 3, and it was on S, M, and A in the fiery furnace.
Between chapter 3 and 6, we have a time jump.
Illustration: Captain America Time Jump
Lots has changed between chapters 3 and 6.
Daniel is no longer a young man.
When we first met Daniel in chapter 1, he was a teenager.
Daniel is in his early 80’s as we get to chapter 6. (Big Time Jump)
In this series, we have also been talking about Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar.
Well in chapter 6, we have a new king and a new empire.
The new empire is the Medo-Persian empire.
The Medes and Persians defeat Babylon in chapter 5.
The new king is Darius the Mede aka Cyrus the Great.
(Big Time Jump)
That’s the time jump between chapters 3 and 6.
Daniel is in his 80’s.
And the Medes and Persians have defeated Babylon.
Darius is king.
Here is how the Persians set up their Kingdom.
The King is at the top.
Under the king were three governors.
Daniel was one of the three governors.
120 satraps were under the three governors.
Read Text: -23
Let’s recap.
The king was about to put Daniel as second in command of the Persian Empire.
This didn’t set well with the other two governors and the 120 satraps.
They began to plot against Daniel, trying to dig up some skeletons in his closet.
They couldn’t find any dirt on Daniel.
They figured the only way to find any charge against Daniel would have to do with his faith.
So they set a trap.
The two governors and 120 satraps went to King Darius and talked Darius into signing a decree that no one could pray to anyone except Darius for 30 days.
If anyone broke the decree, they would be cast into the lions dens.
What did Daniel do?
He stood strong for the Lord.
(v.
10)
Daniel lived in a culture that was hostile toward God.
Daniel stood strong for the Lord.
Daniel stood strong for the Lord as a teenager when he first came to Babylon.
Daniel continued to stand strong for the Lord when he was in his 80’s.
We live in a culture that his more and more hostile toward God.
We need to stand strong for the Lord.
God need people like us standing strong for him.
God needs children standing strong for Him.
God needs youth standing strong for him.
God needs college students standing strong for him.
God needs adults standing strong for him.
God need senior adults standing strong for him.
This morning, I want us to talk about how we stand strong for the Lord and why it’s important to strand strong for the Lord.
Let’s start with the how to, and we will get to to the why.
1. Standing strong for God starts with consistent prayer.
Explanation: The key to standing strong for the Lord is to kneel often.
Standing for God starts with consistent prayer.
Look at v. 10.
Daniel prayed 3 times a day just as he had done.
That was Daniel’s spiritual practice.
That was Daniel’s spiritual habit.
He prayed three times every day.
If you study through the entire book, you will see that Daniel was a man of prayer.
Daniel had a consistent prayer life.
Daniel prayed three times every day.
Illustration: Craig Davison is a consistent man.
The Phoenix, AZ resident began running regularly in November 5, 1978 and hadn’t missed a single day since then when an article was written about him in 1997.
By January 2018, at age forty-three, he calculated he had logged in 208,000 miles (nearly five laps around the world).
His regimen of running is an example of consistency by itself, but what he’s done traveling all of those miles is an equally impressive lesson in consistency.
While running, Davison keeps his eyes open for loose change and doesn’t pass up a single penny.
This consistent vigilance has paid off.
Over the years he has collected $5,170.
All those dimes, nickels, and pennies paid for a second honeymoon to Hawaii in 1991.
Application: If standing strong for the Lord starts with consistent prayer, here’s the question that I want us to think about this morning.
Do we have a consistent prayer life?
Do we pray daily?
Or do we take it up a notch and pray multiples times a day like Daniel.
What if we prayed three times a day?
I want to challenge you to take your prayer life up a notch.
Pray multiple times a day.
Maybe, you want to be in the habit of prayer like Daniel in which you pray three times a day.
Here’s the deal.
The more we pray the more likely we are to stand strong for God.
2. Standing strong is about faith defeating fear.
Illustration: Different Phobias
Explanation: The number one reason that we don’t stand for God is fear.
Don’t stand strong for God because we are afraid of what people may think about us.
We are afraid of what our friends might say about us.
We are afraid of what our family might think about us.
We are afraid of what our co-workers or boss might think of us.
We don’t stand for God because we are afraid of what people might think about us.
We don’t stand for God because we are afraid people might make fun of us or ostracize us.
So the number one reason that we don’t stand strong for God is fear.
Here is what we need to understand about fear.
Fear grows when we give into it.
But fear lessens when we move against it in faith.
(Repeat)
Fear can be this really big thing, When fear grips us, fear can paralyze.
Fear causes not to act.
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