Unbreakable - week 5 - Unbreakable Faith

Unbreakable Faith

We’ve been looking at the life of Daniel and his friends for the last 4 weeks. They all faced a changing culture that ripped everything they were familiar with away from them then demanded that they change and be like a new culture. Their changing culture demanded that instead of relying on God, they should rely on their new government. Instead of worshiping God, they needed to bow down and worship their new king. They were told to obey at the threat of being killed. The culture around them was changing and asking them to compromise. “Do what makes you happy! Lie to stay out of trouble. Don’t stand up for the truth because it’s too dangerous and you will be the only one.”

Their changing culture was constantly trying to pump fear into them. Even though the destruction and captivity of Jerusalem and their forced re-education was much more severe than what we face today, in many ways their shifting culture was very similar to the changing culture of compromise we live in today. We look at our rapidly changing culture and sometimes find ourselves asking, “How are we going to survive this?” My hope and prayer for all of us as we study this series is that as we see this happening all around us we can take a deep breath and realize that we can’t JUST HOPE TO SURVIVE. But with God we can thrive.

Or better yet, if we let God work in us and give us the strength to thrive, GOD will be glorified and the world around us will begin to change. Just like Yahweh did for Daniel and his friends. Just think about all the amazing things we watched God do through Daniel and his friends with just small amounts of obedience.

King tried to rename them, but they remembered who GOD said they were and didn’t compromise or defile themselves.

Didn’t compromise with food = Healthier & more wise than everyone else = Entered royal service = Served almost 70 years and more than 4 kings.

Their obedience to God gave them the strength to stand in public even though they faced pressure, persecution, and death.

They didn’t compromise when it came to conflict, instead they approached with God’s wisdom. They spent years building relationships and approached with HUMILITY and HOPE with the goal of RESTORATION.

They didn’t seek personal gain, instead they did everything for God’s glory. Even when the writing was on the wall for Belshazzar, Daniel said, “Keep your gifts...”

As I look at some of the stories about Daniel and his friends I can’t help but think about how incredibly WISE and TOUGH these men were. That’s why Ashley Wooldridge named this series “Tough as Nails” when he did it at his church. These guys were tough as nails. As our culture continues to demand compromises from us, how can we be tough like Daniel? I want faith like Daniel’s. Faith in Yahweh that is unbreakable.

Today we are going to finish up our look at Daniel with the most well known story in the book of Daniel. Possibly the most well known story in the whole bible. How many of you would say that you are very familiar with the story of “Daniel and the Lions’ Den”? I don’t want anyone to feel embarrassed, but I don’t want to assume anything either, so is there anyone in here who has never heard of “Daniel and the Lions’ Den”?

I found a few pictures online that are fairly representative of how we tend to view the story. Probably the most common view is of some young white weight lifter. Apparently that has spawned a movement to turn Daniel into Kanye West. This one gets a little closer to making Daniel look like an older gentlemen, possibly from the Middle East, but I don’t know what’s up with those lions. Some of them look hungry. In this last one the lions are less hungry looking, but Daniel is back to being a white guy. At least he’s older, but maybe too stoic or pretentious? It doesn’t matter. I’m just having a little fun.

For those of you who are familiar with the story, hopefully this will be a good refresher and you will learn something new or see the story from a slightly different angle. If you want to follow along in your bibles, this story is found in Chapter 6 of Daniel. As you turn there, let me catch you up on the story just a bit. Last week we looked at chapter 5 and we watched as king Belshazzar of Babylon, defied Yahweh. He had wild parties, got crazy drunk, drank from cups from God’s Temple, worshipped all sorts of gods, and who knows what else might have been going on, so God sent a hand to write the message on the wall that said, “NUMBERED, NUMBERED, WEIGHED, and DIVIDED”.

Daniel had to come in and tell the king what the message meant. Daniel said it means this...

“God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end. You have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up. Your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

While all of this is going on, King Cyrus of Persia was in the process of breaching Babylons defenses. Babylon was surrounded by a huge impregnable wall. The Walls of Babylon were one of the 7 Wonders of the World. The walls completely encircled the city and even stretched over the Euphrates River, which ran through the center of the city. At the time there was no known technology that could breach the walls. They had large metal gates in the river to keep people from trying to get in by way of the river. They had large gates for foot traffic to pass through.

There is no way for us to know the exact dimensions of the walls, but some pretty conservative estimates put each wall at about 12 miles long, at least 25 feet thick, anywhere from 75 to 150 feet tall, with towers built on top which could make them reach even higher. Some ancient historians claimed the walls were as much as 320 feet tall. Not only is the wall itself famous, but one of it’s gates is as well.

It is the Ishtar Gate. This is a model of what the entire gate and procession street may have looked like. The structure of the gate itself was buried another 45 feet down in the dirt. Each of the bricks were colored with a glaze. Historians, archeologists and scientists still haven’t figured out exactly how they managed to utilize ancient technology to get such accurate colors for their brick glaze. Here is another picture of a reconstruction of the gate itself. When you look at this reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate, it helps you get a better visual of the scale of this wall. This reconstruction isn’t even the entire gate. This is the smaller portion of the gate.

You may remember talking about King Nebuchadnezzar’s pride. He would put inscriptions on some of his creations in the city including this gate. I only bring this up because scripture talks about his pride and here, outside of scripture, we have examples of his pride from his own inscriptions. I want to read you part of what he wrote. I know it’s super cringy, but hang in there...

“I pulled down these gates and laid their foundations at the water table with asphalt and bricks and had them made of bricks with blue stone on which wonderful bulls and dragons were depicted. I covered their roofs by laying majestic cedars lengthwise over them. I fixed doors of cedar wood adorned with bronze at all the gate openings. I placed wild bulls and ferocious dragons in the gateways and thus adorned them with luxurious splendor so that Mankind might gaze on them in wonder.”

I’m getting a little off topic here, but I thought it was very interesting. It’s also interesting to me how closely this historical time period lines up with ours culturally. We have one of the most powerful kingdoms in the world taking their safety for granted. They strike fear in the hearts of anyone who opposes them. They pridefully ignore God. They go out and take what they want. They pat themselves on the back for the great things they have built. They worship anything that comes into their lives and makes them happy. Nothing can defeat them! They are too powerful! To big to fail! The writing is on the wall… And they don’t even care.

Daniel 5:29 NLT

29 Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was dressed in purple robes, a gold chain was hung around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

It is scary how similar our culture is today. The writing is on the wall and nobody even cares. “Thanks for the good message!” they say. Then go right back to life my way. Then, like a thief in the night, it’s all taken from King Belshazzar. This is all we get from scripture...

Daniel 5:30–31 NLT

30 That very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed. 31 And Darius the Mede took over the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.

What happened is that while all of this partying was happening, King Cyrus of Persia was digging and redirecting water from the river. When the water level dropped enough for his men to be able to walk in it, they went under the massive city wall, walked right into the city, killed Belshazzar, and took over the Babylonian kingdom. So, now the kingdom is divided amongst the Medes and the Persians, just like God warned. That’s where we will finally begin with chapter 6...

Daniel 6:1–2 NLT

1 Darius the Mede decided to divide the kingdom into 120 provinces, and he appointed a high officer to rule over each province. 2 The king also chose Daniel and two others as administrators to supervise the high officers and protect the king’s interests.

Why is it that whatever catastrophic event that seems to happen to Daniel, he always seems to land on top? What is he doing to find favor with these rulers and at the same time keep favor with God? Obviously the two are opposing each other! Even in our world today, the two clearly oppose each other. So how do we find favor with God and at the same time favor with other people, especially when they hate God? Let’s quickly look at 4 of Daniel’s traits that make him such a respected follower of the one true God, Yahweh.

INTEGRITY

First, Daniel has integrity. Another word for integrity is “incorruptibility”. Just like earlier in Daniel’s life, this new king put Daniel in charge of some things and learned very quickly that this guy knows what he is doing and he is good at his job so the king decides to place him over the entire empire. Imagine that you have just started a new job somewhere like a bank. What is one of the best ways you could make some enemies? Get all the promotions! Go straight to the top. Finish your teller training, then immediately promote to branch manager. That’s exactly what happens to Daniel. So they decide to get him fired. “Maybe he’s skimming from the top. Maybe he’s being inappropriate with Nina from corporate accounts payable.”

Daniel 6:4–5 NLT

4 Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. 5 So they concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.”

He has too much integrity. If we want to be tough like Daniel and unbreakable, we have to start with integrity. There is a great article written by JimDre Westbrook at huffpost.com. In the article he tells the story about how he had a near death experience that propelled him into realizing that God has given his life a purpose. Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Helping people find happiness by seeking God and discovering who they really are. This is how he closes the article...

My message is very clear. Someone is always watching you. Be careful what image and legacy you leave behind. Life is too short to promote negativity and bad habits. Take pride in having some integrity at all times. Because even when you’re the only person in the room, someone is watching you from above. Be the example...just do it!

Integrity is great, but what if it gets me fired? What if my integrity can get my friend in trouble or hurt our relationship? Surely there is some gray area? What if it gets me thrown into a lions’ den? Unfortunately for Daniel, they decide to use his integrity against him. If there is no fault in his code of conduct, maybe we can make a new rule that goes against his morals. And that’s exactly what they do. They go to the king with this great idea and really butter him up, “Long live the king!” King Darius, you are so great. We’ve all got together and decided that there should be a new law so that people will truly understand how great you are. And it should be strictly enforced! Just for 1 month, people should only pray to you. No other people, no other gods, just you! If anyone breaks this law they should be tossed to the lions.

How is Daniel going to be tough now? He shows integrity, next he is consistent...

CONSISTENCY

When it comes to these 4 traits of Unbreakable faith, this one is the toughest for me. I have been trying to be consistent all year with specific things and it is hard. You get busy and forget to pray, you get distracted and eat something that is not part of your meal plan, you get sick and don’t feel like riding your bike, the wind blows too hard and you don’t feel like riding your bike, it’s too hot so you don’t feel like riding your bike, you’ve had a long day so you don’t feel like riding your bike.

This one really speaks to me. The rules just changed for Daniel, so now he has a great excuse to put it on pause for a few days. In the grand scheme of things, what is a month? For me, I can find excuses. But I want to be tough like Daniel. Unbreakable. His dictionary doesn’t even have the word ‘excuse’ in it. So what does he do after he hears about this new law...

Daniel 6:10 NLT

10 But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.

I don’t know about you all, but I need some “as usual” moments in my life.

*Why isn’t Chad eating icecream? -He’s honoring God with his health, as usual.

*There goes Chad again on his bike, taking care of the body God gave him, as usual.

*Instead of saying that my alarm keeps going off, as usual. It would be nice if Amy could say, he got up early again to read his bible and pray, as usual.

What is the “as usual” moment God wants to have with you?

Next the officials went up and found Daniel asking God for help, but notice that Daniel didn’t go up and start praying TODAY because a new law went into effect and he didn’t know what to do. He went up and started praying as usual, just as he had always done. Some of us wait until the problem is on our doorstep to seek God. We wait until we are 350 pounds and the doctor tells us we might die before we start trying to eat healthy. I’ve struggled with consistency my entire life. Not Daniel. He didn’t wait until God was his only option or until he didn’t know what else to do. He realized way back before we even met him that God would always be his only option. He made that decision long before his culture started to change.

4 Traits of Daniel’s unbreakable faith. Integrity, Consistency, third...

AUTHENTICITY

Daniel didn’t just proclaim God’s word, he lived it. Up to this point we can see that to Daniel this isn’t just a hobby. He’s not just checking a box, “yep, did that this week.” To him, his integrity isn’t just a duty, it really matters. His consistency isn’t a to-do list, it is an important part of his daily life. He is living in an authentic relationship with Yahweh, the one true God. I love this quote that is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi...

“Preach the gospel, and if necessary use words.” -St. Francis of Assisi

At this point in his life Daniel is about 83 years old. The officials are trying to get rid of him, so they have this silly law put into place and then happen to “catch” him in the act of praying to God instead of the king. Verse 13...

Daniel 6:13–14 NLT

13 Then they told the king, “That man Daniel, one of the captives from Judah, is ignoring you and your law. He still prays to his God three times a day.” 14 Hearing this, the king was deeply troubled, and he tried to think of a way to save Daniel. He spent the rest of the day looking for a way to get Daniel out of this predicament.

Just like the other kings before him, King Darius saw these qualities in Daniel and had great respect for him. He even appears to genuinely care about Daniel. But the king has no choice. He has to follow through with the punishment for breaking this law...

Daniel 6:16–20 NLT

16 So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.” 17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed the stone with his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles, so that no one could rescue Daniel. 18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused his usual entertainment and couldn’t sleep at all that night. 19 Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lions’ den. 20 When he got there, he called out in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?”

In talking about authenticity, Pastor Mark Moore focuses on Daniel’s response to the king and notices his authenticity in the words he uses in his response to the king. He notes that Daniel’s response is authentic in terms of balancing his words with grace and truth. To quote Pastor Moore, he says, “Grace without truth is meaningless, truth without grace is mean.” One could say that even in diplomacy, Daniel was authentic with his presentation of truth and kindness.

Mark’s definition of authenticity being a balance of grace and truth immediately draws my attention to God’s authentic love for us. If you look in John chapter 1 we can see this balance of grace and truth as offered to us by Jesus Christ. It also happens to be part of the foundational scripture for our little church here...

John 1:16–17 ESV

16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

The bottom line is this. Authenticity reveals itself in both our actions and our words. We should authentically live the truth we proclaim. We should also speak truth as if we have been forgiven for a great many lies. Daniel was full of integrity, daily consistent, his love was authentic, and lastly, he was very humble.

HUMILITY

We’ve talked about his humility before, but as we close this series think back to all of the amazing things Daniel has experienced throughout his life. He was captured and enslaved, then quickly rose to the top of the kings service. He served several kings and had this crazy struggle between their will and God’s will. He lived in the Washington D.C. of ancient history. He is 83 years old, served kings his whole life, and now a whole new nation comes and takes over Babylon and he is still referred to as “One of the captives from Judah.” Then thrown into a pit of lions.

It would be so easy to say, “That’s it! I’ve had it! I don’t deserve this! You’re a horrible person, you’re a liar, you set me up, and you are a stupid king for letting them talk you into such a stupid law to begin with.” But he doesn’t. Instead he shows integrity with a response to the king that is consistent with his faith in Yahweh and he balances grace and truth when he humbly says...

Daniel 6:21–22 NLT

21 Daniel answered, “Long live the king! 22 My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.”

Everything we’ve talked about for the last 5 weeks, these are all things that made Daniel and his friends tough as nails. If you want God to strengthen your faith like Daniel, we start here. God wants our faith to be unbreakable, just like Daniel. One reason humility is so important is because sometimes we tend to look at the results first. Sure, it’s important to have goals, but sometimes we forget to humble ourselves and remind ourselves why we’ve set the goal to begin with. If God isn’t the answer, then we will always fail.

Why do I want to lose 50 pounds this year? Just to be healthy and good looking or is God inspiring me to honor the body he has loaned me?

Why do I want to read the bible this year? Just to say I did, or do I truly desire a stronger relationship with Him?

Why do I want to change the king’s heart? To save my own bacon? To get the laws I want? So I don’t have to worship a golden statue? So I don’t have to live in fear? Or do I deeply desire for every heart to turn to God?

Daniel really cared about the kings he served. He devoted his life to loving, serving, caring for, and praying for each king he served. He didn’t win them all, but look at the kings that praised God because of Daniel...

Rulers who praised God because of Daniel:

Darius (Daniel 6:26)

Cyrus (Ezra 1:2)

Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:34)

To finish out this story, let’s take a look at King Darius’ response to God’s miracle, then we will close. He sent this message throughout the world. Every race, nation, and language...

Daniel 6:26–27 NLT

26 “I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, and he will endure forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed, and his rule will never end. 27 He rescues and saves his people; he performs miraculous signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”