WEBVTT 00:00:03.429 --> 00:00:07.950 Let's pray together just for a moment. The Bible 00:00:07.950 --> 00:00:12.210 says that by one offering, once for all, He has 00:00:12.210 --> 00:00:17.890 sanctified forever those who are His. I hope 00:00:17.890 --> 00:00:21.190 you're one of His this morning, one of God's, 00:00:21.190 --> 00:00:24.050 through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If not, 00:00:24.649 --> 00:00:26.969 you could not have heard the gospel more clearly 00:00:26.969 --> 00:00:30.410 presented than in these moments, as we understand 00:00:30.410 --> 00:00:34.600 that God has provided the Redeemer. A sacrifice 00:00:34.600 --> 00:00:39.859 to die in our place, the Savior, the Lord Jesus 00:00:39.859 --> 00:00:42.659 Christ. And He died for you and for all of us. 00:00:45.020 --> 00:00:47.780 Lord Jesus, we thank you for that sacrifice that 00:00:47.780 --> 00:00:51.460 you've made on our behalf. And those of us who 00:00:51.460 --> 00:00:53.679 have come to the cross and bowed the knee and 00:00:53.679 --> 00:00:56.799 received you, rejoice this morning and we glorify 00:00:56.799 --> 00:01:01.479 you. And we say indeed, worthy, worthy is the 00:01:01.479 --> 00:01:09.250 Lamb. Amen. We open our Bibles together this 00:01:09.250 --> 00:01:12.090 morning to the sixth chapter of the book of Daniel 00:01:12.090 --> 00:01:15.569 as we think about the theme, how to avoid the 00:01:15.569 --> 00:01:23.609 lion's den. I suppose that you parents would 00:01:23.609 --> 00:01:25.950 like to have a dollar every time that you've 00:01:25.950 --> 00:01:28.709 heard, for every time that you've heard the phrase, 00:01:28.829 --> 00:01:32.620 that's not fair. We heard it in our home just 00:01:32.620 --> 00:01:36.540 last night, again. Well, the fact is that not 00:01:36.540 --> 00:01:39.939 everything in life is fair, is it? Because the 00:01:39.939 --> 00:01:44.260 world is under the curse of sin. Sometimes right 00:01:44.260 --> 00:01:48.040 is declared to be wrong, rather, is declared 00:01:48.040 --> 00:01:51.879 to be right. And truth is eclipsed by a lie. 00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:55.659 And the godly person is unjustly accused and 00:01:55.659 --> 00:01:59.859 condemned. If this happens to you, just remember, 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:02.379 that it happened to the Lord Jesus and he can 00:02:02.379 --> 00:02:05.799 sympathize fully with you. The New Testament 00:02:05.799 --> 00:02:09.520 says, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:12.800 you an example for you to follow in his steps, 00:02:13.400 --> 00:02:16.319 who committed no sin nor was any deceit found 00:02:16.319 --> 00:02:21.319 in his mouth, who also died for sins, once for 00:02:21.319 --> 00:02:25.759 all the just for the unjust. So Peter in his 00:02:25.759 --> 00:02:30.400 first epistle goes on to say, This finds favor 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:33.819 with God if for the sake of conscience toward 00:02:33.819 --> 00:02:38.240 God a man bears up under sorrows when suffering 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:42.900 unjustly. We see that principle borne out in 00:02:42.900 --> 00:02:45.639 the illustration of Daniel in the sixth chapter 00:02:45.639 --> 00:02:50.159 of the book that bears his name. We have learned 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:52.819 in studying in Daniel that it's possible to go 00:02:52.819 --> 00:02:57.110 too far in defiance blasphemy against God and 00:02:57.110 --> 00:03:01.490 that is what Belshazzar did. He crossed the line 00:03:01.490 --> 00:03:06.330 of God's patience and grace. He was slain in 00:03:06.330 --> 00:03:10.009 the city of Babylon and the city and the empire 00:03:10.009 --> 00:03:13.289 fell to the Medes and the Persians as God had 00:03:13.289 --> 00:03:17.490 predicted, indeed appointed, that it should. 00:03:18.629 --> 00:03:22.949 And so Cyrus the king of the Persians reigned. 00:03:23.240 --> 00:03:28.379 He appointed in Babylon one whose name was Darius 00:03:28.379 --> 00:03:33.639 to reign as his viceroy. We see in the last verse 00:03:33.639 --> 00:03:37.719 of chapter 5, so Darius the Mede received the 00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:42.900 kingdom at about age of 62. The word Darius literally 00:03:42.900 --> 00:03:47.979 means royal one in the Persian language. It's 00:03:47.979 --> 00:03:51.000 probably best understood as a title, something 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:54.930 like the title Caesar. which then came to be 00:03:54.930 --> 00:03:57.370 applied to the person who was in the office. 00:03:58.370 --> 00:04:01.349 The individual that was named Darius here is 00:04:01.349 --> 00:04:05.870 likely to have been one named Guberu, who was 00:04:05.870 --> 00:04:10.770 a Median general who served under Cyrus. Reigning 00:04:10.770 --> 00:04:16.209 during the transitional period, after the fall 00:04:16.209 --> 00:04:18.850 of Babylon until the Medes and the Persians could 00:04:18.850 --> 00:04:22.389 fully establish their kingdom, This Darius sought 00:04:22.389 --> 00:04:25.550 to bring the conquered territories into full 00:04:25.550 --> 00:04:29.970 submission to Cyrus. Sixty -two years of age 00:04:29.970 --> 00:04:33.910 he was when he received the kingdom, it says. 00:04:34.509 --> 00:04:37.209 And in chapter 9 and verse 1 it says, he was 00:04:37.209 --> 00:04:41.269 made ruler, implying that there was one superior 00:04:41.269 --> 00:04:45.269 to him who gave him his authority, and that one 00:04:45.269 --> 00:04:50.089 who was his superior was Cyrus. Now it says in 00:04:50.089 --> 00:04:52.709 chapter 6 and verse 1, it seemed good to Darius 00:04:52.709 --> 00:04:57.250 to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, that 00:04:57.250 --> 00:04:59.410 they should be in charge of the whole kingdom, 00:04:59.410 --> 00:05:03.629 and over them three commissioners, of whom Daniel 00:05:03.629 --> 00:05:06.990 was one, that these satraps might be accountable 00:05:06.990 --> 00:05:10.209 to them, and that the king might not suffer loss. 00:05:10.250 --> 00:05:14.250 And so we understand how he organized this transitional 00:05:14.250 --> 00:05:19.339 time in the kingdom of Babylon. 120 men were 00:05:19.339 --> 00:05:22.319 appointed as satraps. We do not know exactly 00:05:22.319 --> 00:05:25.939 the size of their area of responsibility, but 00:05:25.939 --> 00:05:29.379 120 of them fanned out to cover the empire, and 00:05:29.379 --> 00:05:32.100 they answered to three men who then were responsible 00:05:32.100 --> 00:05:35.620 directly to Darius. One of the three men directly 00:05:35.620 --> 00:05:39.500 responsible to Darius was Daniel, who, as we 00:05:39.500 --> 00:05:43.540 saw in the last chapter, just at the close of 00:05:43.540 --> 00:05:47.699 the reign of Belshazzar was appointed the third 00:05:47.699 --> 00:05:51.699 in power in that empire. So Daniel, this man 00:05:51.699 --> 00:05:55.980 of God who is now in his 80s, has risen to power 00:05:55.980 --> 00:06:02.100 in two different Gentile empires. This one being 00:06:02.100 --> 00:06:05.459 the Empire of the Medes and the Persians. Now 00:06:05.459 --> 00:06:09.600 we're going to see how Daniel was eventually 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:13.980 placed in a position of jeopardy. and his life 00:06:13.980 --> 00:06:16.920 was endangered as he was thrown into a den of 00:06:16.920 --> 00:06:20.300 lions. We want to first, this morning, look at 00:06:20.300 --> 00:06:24.680 the way to the lion's den. That is traced for 00:06:24.680 --> 00:06:27.680 us in the divisions of the narrative. We notice 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:30.459 Daniel's character, that he was observed as a 00:06:30.459 --> 00:06:32.879 man with an excellent attitude. In verse 3, it 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:37.730 says, distinguishing himself among the commissioners 00:06:37.730 --> 00:06:41.230 and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary 00:06:41.230 --> 00:06:45.069 spirit, an excellent spirit. And the king planned 00:06:45.069 --> 00:06:49.089 to appoint him over the entire kingdom. And so 00:06:49.089 --> 00:06:53.170 very quickly, Daniel rose among the other three 00:06:53.170 --> 00:06:56.649 commissioners so that he was going to be responsible 00:06:56.649 --> 00:07:00.430 directly to the king himself. And then the other 00:07:00.430 --> 00:07:02.550 two commissioners, or perhaps another appointed 00:07:02.550 --> 00:07:05.699 in his place, would be responsible to Daniel. 00:07:06.620 --> 00:07:10.839 He was a man of flawless work. It says that the 00:07:10.839 --> 00:07:13.699 commissioners and satraps who worked under him 00:07:13.699 --> 00:07:17.180 began trying to find a ground of accusation against 00:07:17.180 --> 00:07:20.600 Daniel in regard to government affairs, but they 00:07:20.600 --> 00:07:23.399 could find no ground of accusation or evidence 00:07:23.399 --> 00:07:27.620 of corruption inasmuch as he was faithful and 00:07:27.620 --> 00:07:30.920 no negligence or corruption was to be found in 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:34.899 him. What a tremendous example Daniel sets for 00:07:34.899 --> 00:07:38.680 all civil servants, for anyone who is in a position 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:42.180 of power in the government, to allow no taint 00:07:42.180 --> 00:07:46.379 of corruption or negligence to be found in his 00:07:46.379 --> 00:07:51.500 work. Daniel was a flawless man in his work for 00:07:51.500 --> 00:07:55.879 Darius. But not only that, he was a devoted worshiper. 00:07:55.980 --> 00:07:57.819 We know that about his character from what is 00:07:57.819 --> 00:08:01.279 said in verse 5. It says, then these men said, 00:08:01.420 --> 00:08:04.100 we shall not find any ground of accusation against 00:08:04.100 --> 00:08:07.420 this Daniel unless we find it against him with 00:08:07.420 --> 00:08:12.420 regard to the law of his God. So here is a man 00:08:12.420 --> 00:08:15.660 with an excellent attitude, a flawless work record, 00:08:15.980 --> 00:08:19.240 and a man who is devoted to God above everything 00:08:19.240 --> 00:08:24.060 else in his character. And then we see the conspiracy 00:08:24.060 --> 00:08:26.600 against Daniel. It begins in these verses we've 00:08:26.600 --> 00:08:29.740 read and now begins to be fleshed out in verses 00:08:29.740 --> 00:08:33.460 6 through 9. These commissioners and satraps 00:08:33.460 --> 00:08:36.899 got together without Daniel and they made an 00:08:36.899 --> 00:08:38.720 agreement and came to the king and they said, 00:08:38.940 --> 00:08:41.960 King Darius lived forever. All the commissioners 00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:45.230 of the kingdom, oh wait a minute. Not all of 00:08:45.230 --> 00:08:47.350 the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects 00:08:47.350 --> 00:08:50.429 and the satraps, the high officials and the governors 00:08:50.429 --> 00:08:54.250 consulted together. Not all of them. All of them 00:08:54.250 --> 00:08:58.730 except one man, Daniel. Obviously Daniel had 00:08:58.730 --> 00:09:02.669 not been in their time of conspiracy and agreement 00:09:02.669 --> 00:09:06.169 because they were after him. But they pretended 00:09:06.169 --> 00:09:08.509 as though everyone, including Daniel, had been 00:09:08.509 --> 00:09:11.710 involved in this agreement. It says, We have 00:09:11.710 --> 00:09:14.049 consulted together that the king should establish 00:09:14.049 --> 00:09:17.509 a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone 00:09:17.509 --> 00:09:20.490 who makes a petition to any god or man besides 00:09:20.490 --> 00:09:23.649 you, O King, for thirty days shall be cast into 00:09:23.649 --> 00:09:27.169 the lion's den. Now O King, establish the injunction 00:09:27.169 --> 00:09:29.730 and sign the document so that it may not be changed 00:09:29.730 --> 00:09:31.769 according to the law of the Medes and Persians, 00:09:32.029 --> 00:09:34.529 which may not be revoked. That was, of course, 00:09:34.669 --> 00:09:36.590 a characteristic of the law of the Medes and 00:09:36.590 --> 00:09:39.250 Persians. Once established, nothing could change 00:09:39.250 --> 00:09:44.720 it. In that sense, the kings of the Medes and 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:48.820 Persians had less authority than Nebuchadnezzar 00:09:48.820 --> 00:09:51.639 of Babylon, because Nebuchadnezzar could establish 00:09:51.639 --> 00:09:54.580 a decree and then change it at his whim. But 00:09:54.580 --> 00:09:56.720 not so among the Medes and the Persians. Once 00:09:56.720 --> 00:09:59.879 a king spoke, that was it. Nothing, not even 00:09:59.879 --> 00:10:03.159 the king himself, could change that decree. And 00:10:03.159 --> 00:10:06.840 so no one was to pray or to seek any other god 00:10:06.840 --> 00:10:12.129 except King Darius. for the next months. The 00:10:12.129 --> 00:10:16.990 kings of that day were not uncommonly called 00:10:16.990 --> 00:10:21.149 deity. Often they would declare themselves or 00:10:21.149 --> 00:10:24.769 others would declare them to be gods and in this 00:10:24.769 --> 00:10:27.509 way they were able to consolidate their power 00:10:27.509 --> 00:10:30.450 in their kingdom and Darius obviously found this 00:10:30.450 --> 00:10:34.049 very appealing not only for his own ego but also 00:10:34.049 --> 00:10:37.440 because he was trying to consolidate the Babylonian 00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:40.899 Empire as quickly as possible so that Cyrus would 00:10:40.899 --> 00:10:45.120 be well pleased with him. Well, it says that 00:10:45.120 --> 00:10:48.179 the king signed the document, the injunction, 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:51.240 and then in verse 10 we come to the courage of 00:10:51.240 --> 00:10:54.480 Daniel. Now when Daniel knew that the document 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:59.080 was signed, he entered his house, now in his 00:10:59.080 --> 00:11:01.799 roof chamber, he had windows open toward Jerusalem. 00:11:02.250 --> 00:11:05.009 And he continued kneeling on his knees three 00:11:05.009 --> 00:11:07.730 times a day, praying and giving thanks before 00:11:07.730 --> 00:11:13.610 his God as he had been doing previously. We notice 00:11:13.610 --> 00:11:18.250 that prayer was a matter of pattern, of continuity 00:11:18.250 --> 00:11:20.970 in the life of Daniel. Indeed, I think we can 00:11:20.970 --> 00:11:24.899 say that the one thing that saved Daniel from 00:11:24.899 --> 00:11:27.899 the influence of the pagan cultures around him 00:11:27.899 --> 00:11:31.659 for these some 70 years or more that he has been 00:11:31.659 --> 00:11:35.539 in Babylon and now in Medo -Persia, was the fact 00:11:35.539 --> 00:11:39.220 that he was a praying man. Prayer will spare 00:11:39.220 --> 00:11:43.259 us from falling under the influence of a pagan 00:11:43.259 --> 00:11:49.799 culture. And if we do not pray, we are then prey 00:11:49.799 --> 00:11:55.110 for... the pagan culture around us. Because he 00:11:55.110 --> 00:11:59.210 was a man of prayer, Daniel had not compromised 00:11:59.210 --> 00:12:03.649 his convictions. Now at this point, it's possible 00:12:03.649 --> 00:12:06.470 that Daniel might have rationalized some compromise. 00:12:07.690 --> 00:12:09.549 He might have said, look, there is this decree 00:12:09.549 --> 00:12:11.570 and I think it would be alright in this case 00:12:11.570 --> 00:12:14.809 to at least close the shutters on these windows 00:12:14.809 --> 00:12:18.500 so that no one can observe me. Or on the other 00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:21.000 hand, he might have said, I think I will just 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:23.919 cease praying for a month. I mean, God will surely 00:12:23.919 --> 00:12:27.080 understand. For all of these decades, I have 00:12:27.080 --> 00:12:29.919 been praying faithfully three times a day. And 00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:32.879 now if I just skip it for a month, surely God 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:36.980 would be patient with me. Or he might have said, 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:39.120 look, they know that I'm going to be praying 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:41.860 there. What I'm going to do is find a place where 00:12:41.860 --> 00:12:44.720 I can close myself off and seek it, and I will 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:48.059 pray there. Or on the other hand, he might have 00:12:48.059 --> 00:12:51.139 said, they expect me to pray during the daytime, 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:54.879 I'm going to get them, I'll pray at night. And 00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:56.980 I'll pray three times during the night and no 00:12:56.980 --> 00:13:00.740 one will know that I'm praying. But Daniel refused 00:13:00.740 --> 00:13:04.820 to do that. Daniel did not compromise, he was 00:13:04.820 --> 00:13:09.480 courageous. He refused any temptation in that 00:13:09.480 --> 00:13:12.919 direction and determined to practice his devotion 00:13:12.919 --> 00:13:17.460 to the Lord faithfully. So he made a choice to 00:13:17.460 --> 00:13:21.200 be loyal to the Lord rather than to obey a godless 00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:24.500 system of government that forbade his praying. 00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:28.620 He practiced that New Testament principle that 00:13:28.620 --> 00:13:32.440 we see that we are to obey God rather than man. 00:13:33.700 --> 00:13:36.360 Someone has said, I wonder what would happen 00:13:36.360 --> 00:13:39.240 if we were as eager for the approval of God as 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:43.799 we are for the applause of men. Daniel wanted 00:13:43.799 --> 00:13:46.279 the approval and the blessing of God upon his 00:13:46.279 --> 00:13:51.340 life and therefore he refused to compromise his 00:13:51.340 --> 00:13:55.759 praying. Now as Daniel was meditating and praying 00:13:55.759 --> 00:13:59.759 we know what Daniel was meditating about. He 00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:03.379 was meditating about the fact that 70 years were 00:14:03.379 --> 00:14:06.799 now accomplished for the captivity of the people 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:10.590 of God. In the ninth chapter, in the second verse, 00:14:10.789 --> 00:14:14.590 we have this record. It says, in the first year 00:14:14.590 --> 00:14:17.929 of his reign, that is the reign of Darius, the 00:14:17.929 --> 00:14:20.950 very time we're talking about, in the first year 00:14:20.950 --> 00:14:24.730 of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books, 00:14:25.750 --> 00:14:28.070 the scrolls, the writings of the Old Testament, 00:14:28.649 --> 00:14:31.450 the number of the years which was revealed as 00:14:31.450 --> 00:14:34.110 the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet. 00:14:34.539 --> 00:14:37.820 for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, 00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:43.440 namely 70 years." So Daniel tells us exactly 00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:46.860 what was on his mind during these days. He realized 00:14:46.860 --> 00:14:50.200 that Jeremiah had spoken the exact number of 00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:52.659 years that the people of God would be in captivity. 00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:56.080 And the thing that was exciting him and stimulating 00:14:56.080 --> 00:14:58.399 him in his prayer life was that the time was 00:14:58.399 --> 00:15:03.840 now up. And I believe that because he was a man 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:07.539 who read the books, he was also a man who was 00:15:07.539 --> 00:15:11.639 familiar with the writings of Isaiah the prophet. 00:15:12.940 --> 00:15:19.220 A hundred and fifty years before this time, Isaiah 00:15:19.220 --> 00:15:23.399 was given the name of the man who had released 00:15:23.399 --> 00:15:27.200 the Jews from their captivity. And he names him 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:30.679 in the 45th chapter of his book, calling him 00:15:30.679 --> 00:15:38.320 Cyrus. Calling him indeed Cyrus my servant because 00:15:38.320 --> 00:15:40.700 God was going to raise up this man who was yet 00:15:40.700 --> 00:15:44.679 to be born when Isaiah spoke the words to be 00:15:44.679 --> 00:15:47.639 his servant to release the people of Israel from 00:15:47.639 --> 00:15:52.580 bondage in Babylon. And Daniel realizes that 00:15:52.580 --> 00:15:57.850 now Cyrus is reigning. And the man that God had 00:15:57.850 --> 00:16:01.850 prophesied of 150 years before was there before 00:16:01.850 --> 00:16:06.230 him. This was no time for compromise. Daniel 00:16:06.230 --> 00:16:10.470 determined to be faithful. We see the charge 00:16:10.470 --> 00:16:12.710 that is brought against Daniel beginning in verse 00:16:12.710 --> 00:16:18.129 11. The men came by agreement and they found 00:16:18.129 --> 00:16:21.730 Daniel making petition and supplication before 00:16:21.730 --> 00:16:25.070 God. We can know what Daniel was praying. Oh 00:16:25.070 --> 00:16:30.360 God! Release your people. Redeem them from their 00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:33.759 captivity in Babylon. God, the time is up. God, 00:16:33.940 --> 00:16:38.980 Cyrus is reigning. Remember your promise. Well, 00:16:38.980 --> 00:16:41.320 they approached and spoke before the king about 00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:44.519 the injunction and said, Did you sign this petition, 00:16:44.519 --> 00:16:48.299 King? And the king said, Yes, that's true, I 00:16:48.299 --> 00:16:51.259 did. And they answered and spoke and said, Daniel, 00:16:51.320 --> 00:16:53.860 who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no 00:16:53.860 --> 00:16:57.769 attention to you. O King, or to the injunction 00:16:57.769 --> 00:17:00.289 which you signed, but keeps making his petition 00:17:00.289 --> 00:17:04.569 three times a day." And so there is the charge 00:17:04.569 --> 00:17:07.490 against Daniel. It's not really a fair charge, 00:17:08.150 --> 00:17:11.509 because Daniel did pay attention to the King. 00:17:12.089 --> 00:17:16.630 He was a man who was flawless in his work. They 00:17:16.630 --> 00:17:19.829 had misrepresented him before to the King, saying 00:17:19.829 --> 00:17:22.210 that Daniel was in on this agreement when he 00:17:22.210 --> 00:17:25.809 had not been. And now they come unfairly and 00:17:25.809 --> 00:17:31.769 accuse Daniel of praying. Notice the king's response. 00:17:33.589 --> 00:17:37.769 He gave orders. Daniel was brought in and cast 00:17:37.769 --> 00:17:41.329 into the lion's den. Believe me, this grieved 00:17:41.329 --> 00:17:45.670 Arias. The verses intervening there show that. 00:17:46.089 --> 00:17:48.710 He did everything in his power to keep Daniel 00:17:48.710 --> 00:17:52.049 from having to go through this. He tried to find 00:17:52.049 --> 00:17:54.529 a way to get around his own decree, but he could 00:17:54.529 --> 00:17:58.369 find none. And so the command was given that 00:17:58.369 --> 00:18:01.089 Daniel should be cast into the den of lions. 00:18:02.309 --> 00:18:05.470 A stone was brought after Daniel was placed in 00:18:05.470 --> 00:18:09.349 the den. It was placed over the mouth of the 00:18:09.349 --> 00:18:12.829 den. The king sealed it with his own ring and 00:18:12.829 --> 00:18:16.730 the signet rings of his nobles. That was according 00:18:16.730 --> 00:18:19.509 to the law. Nothing was to break that seal. Daniel 00:18:19.509 --> 00:18:23.890 was to pay the price. And then it says in verse 00:18:23.890 --> 00:18:26.410 18, the king went off to his palace and spent 00:18:26.410 --> 00:18:30.730 the night fasting. And no entertainment was brought 00:18:30.730 --> 00:18:35.410 before him, and his sleep fled from before him. 00:18:35.970 --> 00:18:39.430 Darius did not want to see this trusted advisor 00:18:39.430 --> 00:18:44.849 slain, but he had no choice. And while Daniel 00:18:44.849 --> 00:18:48.599 was there in that lion's den, He walked his floor. 00:18:48.660 --> 00:18:51.799 He turned in his bed. He could not sleep. He 00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:55.019 waited until the dawn. And then when the dawn 00:18:55.019 --> 00:18:58.319 came, the king was the first one out of bed and 00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:01.140 went out to the lion's den. When he had come 00:19:01.140 --> 00:19:04.599 near to it, he cried out and he said, Daniel, 00:19:05.380 --> 00:19:07.759 servant of the living God, has your God whom 00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:10.319 you constantly serve been able to deliver you 00:19:10.319 --> 00:19:15.960 from the lions? He must have waited then for 00:19:15.960 --> 00:19:20.759 that sound. Is Daniel going to respond? And it 00:19:20.759 --> 00:19:23.119 wasn't long before Daniel responded and said, 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:27.960 O King, live forever. My God sent his angel and 00:19:27.960 --> 00:19:30.400 shut the lion's mouths and they have not harmed 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:33.700 me in as much as I was found innocent before 00:19:33.700 --> 00:19:37.019 him. And also toward you, O King, I have committed 00:19:37.019 --> 00:19:40.859 no crime. The king was very pleased and gave 00:19:40.859 --> 00:19:44.000 orders for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. 00:19:44.359 --> 00:19:46.700 And so Daniel was taken up out of the den and 00:19:46.700 --> 00:19:48.940 no injury, whatever, was found on him because 00:19:48.940 --> 00:19:53.480 he had trusted in his God. And then the king 00:19:53.480 --> 00:19:56.200 commanded that those men who were involved in 00:19:56.200 --> 00:19:59.480 the plot against Daniel should themselves, along 00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:02.519 with their wives and their children, be cast 00:20:02.519 --> 00:20:04.920 into the lion's den. And Daniel records for us 00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:06.980 that their bodies did not even touch the bottom 00:20:06.980 --> 00:20:09.980 of the den before all of their bones were crushed 00:20:09.980 --> 00:20:14.849 and they were killed. Darius then made a decree. 00:20:16.509 --> 00:20:19.130 He says, may your peace abound, as he writes 00:20:19.130 --> 00:20:22.670 to everybody in the land. I make a decree that 00:20:22.670 --> 00:20:26.269 in all the dominion of my kingdom, men are to 00:20:26.269 --> 00:20:30.069 fear and tremble before the God of Daniel. He 00:20:30.069 --> 00:20:33.289 is the living God and enduring forever and his 00:20:33.289 --> 00:20:36.390 kingdom is one which will not be destroyed and 00:20:36.390 --> 00:20:40.160 his dominion will be forever. He delivers and 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:43.380 rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven 00:20:43.380 --> 00:20:47.859 and on earth. Who has also delivered Daniel from 00:20:47.859 --> 00:20:52.380 the power of the lions. So this Daniel enjoyed 00:20:52.380 --> 00:20:54.900 success in the reign of Darius and in the reign 00:20:54.900 --> 00:20:59.220 of Cyrus the Persian. Seems as though Daniel 00:20:59.220 --> 00:21:01.579 remained in position for several years until 00:21:01.579 --> 00:21:05.230 he retired. And perhaps about four years after 00:21:05.230 --> 00:21:08.970 this episode, Daniel began to collect the writings 00:21:08.970 --> 00:21:13.089 that are in the book bearing his name. And he 00:21:13.089 --> 00:21:15.849 records for us exactly what happened to him. 00:21:17.069 --> 00:21:20.529 And so as we look at this account, what is the 00:21:20.529 --> 00:21:24.730 way to the lion's den? The answer to that is 00:21:24.730 --> 00:21:28.069 very simple. The way to the lion's den, that 00:21:28.069 --> 00:21:33.809 is the place of persecution, The point of suffering, 00:21:34.789 --> 00:21:39.970 the way to the lion's den, is the way of uncompromising 00:21:39.970 --> 00:21:46.049 faithfulness to the Lord. It is Darius himself 00:21:46.049 --> 00:21:49.990 who twice said regarding Daniel, you constantly 00:21:49.990 --> 00:21:54.970 serve the Lord. That was his reputation before 00:21:54.970 --> 00:21:59.470 the king, a man of faithfulness, and Daniel would 00:21:59.470 --> 00:22:03.670 not compromise that. That is the way to the lion's 00:22:03.670 --> 00:22:06.549 den, but the fact is that most of us want a different 00:22:06.549 --> 00:22:10.650 message this morning. Most of us want a message 00:22:10.650 --> 00:22:17.410 that says, how do I avoid the lion's den? How 00:22:17.410 --> 00:22:21.230 can I avoid suffering? How can I keep away from 00:22:21.230 --> 00:22:25.529 persecution? And so I want to address that subject 00:22:25.529 --> 00:22:28.549 in the remainder of my time this morning. How 00:22:28.549 --> 00:22:33.089 do we avoid the lion's den? I have four suggestions 00:22:33.089 --> 00:22:36.329 for every one of us who is concerned about that. 00:22:36.829 --> 00:22:38.829 For every one of us who does not want to come 00:22:38.829 --> 00:22:42.630 to that point of risking our lives. For those 00:22:42.630 --> 00:22:44.910 of us who want nothing to do with suffering for 00:22:44.910 --> 00:22:48.130 God or being persecuted for our faith. Here's 00:22:48.130 --> 00:22:51.009 how you do it, four suggestions. Number one, 00:22:51.470 --> 00:22:56.750 keep a low profile in spiritual matters. That's 00:22:56.750 --> 00:23:00.430 how you do it. Just melt into the mediocre mass. 00:23:01.569 --> 00:23:06.690 Don't stand out. Don't be vocal or visible for 00:23:06.690 --> 00:23:11.990 Jesus Christ. Go along with the current of things. 00:23:13.549 --> 00:23:16.950 Agree with the majority in the world around you. 00:23:18.210 --> 00:23:23.509 Hide your light under the bushel. Be rational, 00:23:23.670 --> 00:23:26.869 not radical in your faith and in your religious 00:23:26.869 --> 00:23:31.720 commitment. Say nothing, do nothing, and be nothing. 00:23:33.400 --> 00:23:38.339 Shoot for the lowest common denominator. Daniel, 00:23:38.359 --> 00:23:41.160 after all, should have practiced his faith in 00:23:41.160 --> 00:23:44.660 private, should he not? How dare he leave his 00:23:44.660 --> 00:23:48.079 window open so everyone else could see him? He 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:50.940 should realize that faith is a personal matter 00:23:50.940 --> 00:23:56.220 and not to be paraded in public. Rather than 00:23:56.220 --> 00:23:59.200 living a spiritually integrated life as he did, 00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:04.099 he should have compartmentalized his life, separating 00:24:04.099 --> 00:24:07.759 his secular political duty from his religious 00:24:07.759 --> 00:24:11.779 experience. We have a marvelous example of what 00:24:11.779 --> 00:24:14.480 I'm talking about in those people today who say, 00:24:15.220 --> 00:24:18.119 my convictions are against abortion, but I don't 00:24:18.119 --> 00:24:21.480 want to force that on anybody else. I wouldn't 00:24:21.480 --> 00:24:23.720 bring that into the public arena, though that's 00:24:23.720 --> 00:24:27.039 the way I feel about it privately. That's the 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:29.680 kind of person who gives us a marvelous example 00:24:29.680 --> 00:24:35.279 on how to avoid the lion's den. Keep a low profile 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:40.079 in spiritual matters. Secondly, I would suggest 00:24:40.079 --> 00:24:46.599 compromise convictions to avoid detection. Daniel 00:24:46.599 --> 00:24:48.910 should have... tried to fit in with the pagan 00:24:48.910 --> 00:24:51.690 culture. He should have at least for 30 days 00:24:51.690 --> 00:24:57.589 set aside his convictions. When confronted with 00:24:57.589 --> 00:25:00.789 the possibility of public confrontation for your 00:25:00.789 --> 00:25:03.430 faith, I want to encourage you to immediately 00:25:03.430 --> 00:25:07.210 back off if you want to avoid the lion's den. 00:25:08.130 --> 00:25:18.680 Do nothing necessary to expose yourself. Do anything 00:25:18.680 --> 00:25:22.380 that will make you acceptable to the pagan culture 00:25:22.380 --> 00:25:26.859 around you Compromise your convictions to avoid 00:25:26.859 --> 00:25:32.319 detection and you can avoid the lion's den a 00:25:32.319 --> 00:25:37.220 third suggestion Correct any reports that may 00:25:37.220 --> 00:25:40.700 emerge about your faith Daniel should have done 00:25:40.700 --> 00:25:46.819 this When the report came to the king, he should 00:25:46.819 --> 00:25:49.480 have immediately gone to Darius and exposed the 00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:53.859 whole plot. He should have said, I had nothing 00:25:53.859 --> 00:25:58.400 to do with this. And you can't throw me into 00:25:58.400 --> 00:26:02.220 the den of lions. He should have corrected the 00:26:02.220 --> 00:26:05.980 reports from those men. That's what we ought 00:26:05.980 --> 00:26:09.019 to do to avoid the lion's den. We should prove 00:26:09.019 --> 00:26:13.140 ourselves as one of the gang. We should use the 00:26:13.140 --> 00:26:17.220 same kind of language that they use. We should 00:26:17.220 --> 00:26:21.400 do the same kinds of things that they do. We 00:26:21.400 --> 00:26:24.220 should send out a press release, a bulletin, 00:26:24.420 --> 00:26:28.259 to communicate any misunderstanding that has 00:26:28.259 --> 00:26:31.559 occurred that we're not the Christian that we're 00:26:31.559 --> 00:26:36.119 purported to be. We can avoid the lion's den. 00:26:37.720 --> 00:26:40.339 A forced suggestion to do that is to employ any 00:26:40.339 --> 00:26:42.859 desperate method to reverse the threat of suffering. 00:26:43.380 --> 00:26:48.359 I mean recant. I mean throw overboard your profession. 00:26:49.880 --> 00:26:53.200 I mean disassociate yourself from your heritage. 00:26:54.519 --> 00:26:57.779 Pass amendments on your convictions. Change them. 00:26:58.619 --> 00:27:01.259 Just like Peter did at the fire when he was accused 00:27:01.259 --> 00:27:04.539 of having been with this person on trial. He 00:27:04.539 --> 00:27:08.500 denied it and said, I don't know who he is. And 00:27:08.500 --> 00:27:12.059 when again he was accused, he cursed and he swore 00:27:12.059 --> 00:27:16.309 and he said, I don't know the man. That's how 00:27:16.309 --> 00:27:21.509 to avoid the lion's den. Do not follow the example 00:27:21.509 --> 00:27:26.369 of one polycarp who was a disciple of the Apostle 00:27:26.369 --> 00:27:30.809 John and who was placed at a stake to be burned 00:27:30.809 --> 00:27:35.930 to death in 155 AD and who had one final chance 00:27:35.930 --> 00:27:39.849 to avoid the flames. If only he would recant. 00:27:40.200 --> 00:27:43.720 If only now he would use this desperate method 00:27:43.720 --> 00:27:48.339 to avoid the threat of suffering. When asked 00:27:48.339 --> 00:27:53.140 to recant he said, 86 years have I served him 00:27:53.140 --> 00:27:57.220 and he has done me no harm. Why should I forsake 00:27:57.220 --> 00:28:01.160 him now? And with those words he looked upon 00:28:01.160 --> 00:28:04.180 the flames that were lit and praises were on 00:28:04.180 --> 00:28:09.380 his lips as he died for Jesus Christ. You see, 00:28:09.380 --> 00:28:13.779 you can avoid the lion's den if you choose to. 00:28:14.059 --> 00:28:15.960 As a matter of fact, it's not hard to do that. 00:28:15.960 --> 00:28:20.259 It's very easy to do that. But just remember 00:28:20.259 --> 00:28:23.259 that in doing so, there are some things you forfeit 00:28:23.259 --> 00:28:26.880 as well. Before you make the decision to take 00:28:26.880 --> 00:28:30.640 this route, just remember that in taking it, 00:28:30.640 --> 00:28:35.380 number one, you lose your personal honor. The 00:28:35.380 --> 00:28:37.119 apostle wrote to the Philippians and he said 00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:40.539 to them, On behalf of Christ, it is given to 00:28:40.539 --> 00:28:43.500 you as an act of God's grace to suffer for Him. 00:28:47.259 --> 00:28:50.559 In other words, it is the highest honor that 00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:53.180 a Christian can have to bear the name Christian 00:28:53.180 --> 00:28:57.000 and to suffer for it. Not for wrong he's done, 00:28:57.119 --> 00:28:59.559 but for the sake of that name, because of his 00:28:59.559 --> 00:29:03.900 faith. Not only do you lose your personal honor 00:29:03.900 --> 00:29:06.559 by avoiding the lion's den, but I would just 00:29:06.559 --> 00:29:09.359 remind you that you also lose your future reward. 00:29:11.640 --> 00:29:13.720 For the New Testament writer says that if we 00:29:13.720 --> 00:29:16.839 suffer with Him, we will also reign with Him. 00:29:18.839 --> 00:29:22.700 Suffering precedes glory. If we avoid the suffering, 00:29:22.740 --> 00:29:28.220 we lose the glory. But you can avoid the lion's 00:29:28.220 --> 00:29:34.500 den. You can do that. But if you do, You're not 00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:42.859 worthy of the Christ that you claim Would you 00:29:42.859 --> 00:29:46.319 rather today Determined by the grace of God to 00:29:46.319 --> 00:29:51.880 be faithful and to accept the lion's den Even 00:29:51.880 --> 00:29:57.079 if it means everything lost for his sake your 00:29:57.079 --> 00:30:06.430 job Your material goods your security, your future 00:30:06.430 --> 00:30:10.549 with the corporation, the fulfillment of your 00:30:10.549 --> 00:30:16.609 dreams, your reputation, your acceptance by your 00:30:16.609 --> 00:30:25.170 peers, even life itself. It is when we suffer 00:30:25.170 --> 00:30:29.390 unjustly or because of righteousness that God 00:30:29.390 --> 00:30:36.369 is greatly glorified. Peter, who after that terrible 00:30:36.369 --> 00:30:39.910 denial of his Lord, later gave his life for Christ, 00:30:40.509 --> 00:30:44.950 wrote these words. To the degree that you share 00:30:44.950 --> 00:30:48.170 the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, 00:30:48.849 --> 00:30:51.490 so that also at the revelation of his glory you 00:30:51.490 --> 00:30:56.390 may rejoice with exaltation. If you are reviled 00:30:56.390 --> 00:31:01.470 for the name of Christ, you are blessed. because 00:31:01.470 --> 00:31:05.309 the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 00:31:05.950 --> 00:31:08.470 By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, 00:31:09.109 --> 00:31:13.190 or a thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler. 00:31:14.009 --> 00:31:17.789 But if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him 00:31:17.789 --> 00:31:22.210 not feel ashamed, but in that name, let him glorify 00:31:22.210 --> 00:31:29.269 God. The people of God in every age have been 00:31:29.269 --> 00:31:32.019 called upon to suffer. if they would be faithful. 00:31:34.759 --> 00:31:38.059 Those who choose to live godly in Christ Jesus 00:31:38.059 --> 00:31:46.220 shall suffer persecution, says the apostle. We 00:31:46.220 --> 00:31:49.119 have looked in the book of Daniel at the prophecy 00:31:49.119 --> 00:31:52.339 concerning Antiochus Epiphanes, and we will see 00:31:52.339 --> 00:31:56.019 him again in a couple of weeks in another prophecy. 00:31:57.500 --> 00:32:00.190 When Antiochus took the city of Jerusalem, in 00:32:00.190 --> 00:32:04.049 the second century, Antiochus or the third century. 00:32:05.109 --> 00:32:09.789 Antiochus sought to defile and to destroy the 00:32:09.789 --> 00:32:14.849 Jewish religion and the Jewish temple. The book 00:32:14.849 --> 00:32:21.529 of Second Maccabees records a time when Antiochus 00:32:21.529 --> 00:32:27.849 demanded of a family that they eat pork. and 00:32:27.849 --> 00:32:31.910 thus deny their God. And of course, the law of 00:32:31.910 --> 00:32:36.990 their God forbid them to eat pork. A mother and 00:32:36.990 --> 00:32:40.730 seven sons were gathered, and they all refused. 00:32:41.170 --> 00:32:45.269 Antiochus took the eldest of the sons, pulled 00:32:45.269 --> 00:32:49.210 out his hair, pulled all the skin off of his 00:32:49.210 --> 00:32:54.269 head, cut off his hands, cut off his feet, and 00:32:54.269 --> 00:33:01.339 then put him in a frying pan. and fried him before 00:33:01.339 --> 00:33:05.519 the mother and the six brothers. And then turned 00:33:05.519 --> 00:33:10.420 the second eldest of the sons and said, Now, 00:33:11.000 --> 00:33:15.299 will you eat some pork? And faithful to his God, 00:33:15.500 --> 00:33:18.440 as was his brother, he experienced the same death 00:33:18.440 --> 00:33:21.460 before the eyes of his remaining brothers and 00:33:21.460 --> 00:33:25.460 his mother, his mother exhorting her son to suffer 00:33:25.460 --> 00:33:29.259 death for the sake of God. And the story goes 00:33:29.259 --> 00:33:32.519 on until every son was ultimately killed before 00:33:32.519 --> 00:33:36.359 the eyes of the mother and she herself then was 00:33:36.359 --> 00:33:43.839 slain. You can avoid the fire. You can avoid 00:33:43.839 --> 00:33:49.380 the lion's den. But to avoid it means loss of 00:33:49.380 --> 00:33:53.420 one's personal honor and loss of future reward. 00:33:55.240 --> 00:34:00.119 So how much better? to understand how to walk 00:34:00.119 --> 00:34:04.240 the way to the lion's den, and determine in our 00:34:04.240 --> 00:34:08.980 hearts to be men and women who will be uncompromising 00:34:08.980 --> 00:34:15.199 in our obedience to Jesus Christ. Let's pray. 00:34:20.440 --> 00:34:24.519 I would hope that that reflects your attitude. 00:34:24.920 --> 00:34:29.940 your heart's desire, your determination to be 00:34:29.940 --> 00:34:40.820 faithful, faithful, obedient, continuously so. 00:34:44.960 --> 00:34:55.980 Would you tell the Lord if that is true? Lord 00:34:55.980 --> 00:35:03.280 Jesus, hear the words of our hearts as we seek 00:35:03.280 --> 00:35:07.840 to follow the example of Daniel and go to our 00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:13.260 own lion's den, that place of suffering, of risk, 00:35:14.300 --> 00:35:21.219 of persecution perhaps. But let us be a faithful 00:35:21.219 --> 00:35:25.860 people. and be worthy of the name Christian. 00:35:30.219 --> 00:35:35.739 In Jesus' name, amen. And when he went on breathing, 00:35:35.920 --> 00:35:40.019 he laughed and scorned God and said, see, there 00:35:40.019 --> 00:35:46.280 is no God. But there came a moment when God's 00:35:46.280 --> 00:35:51.750 time was up for this man. And like all who preceded 00:35:51.750 --> 00:35:55.730 him, judgment came, and he was taken in death, 00:35:56.550 --> 00:35:58.489 and there was nothing that could deliver him 00:35:58.489 --> 00:36:03.250 from the hand of God. When God's moment of judgment 00:36:03.250 --> 00:36:08.090 arrives, nothing can provide escape. It was true 00:36:08.090 --> 00:36:11.369 with Belshazzar that night when he got the message 00:36:11.369 --> 00:36:18.400 by the handwriting on the wall. A few days ago 00:36:18.400 --> 00:36:22.119 when I was in the home of some friends, I picked 00:36:22.119 --> 00:36:26.420 up an issue of Life magazine with pictures from 00:36:26.420 --> 00:36:29.679 the last 50 years in the magazine. One of the 00:36:29.679 --> 00:36:33.199 pictures was a picture taken covertly in the 00:36:33.199 --> 00:36:38.239 mausoleum in Moscow of Lenin and Stalin. And 00:36:38.239 --> 00:36:43.860 it showed them there in their death pose. their 00:36:43.860 --> 00:36:48.099 bodies being carefully preserved by the communists. 00:36:48.460 --> 00:36:51.119 And it struck me again what a truth this is. 00:36:52.199 --> 00:36:54.920 That when God's moment of judgment arrives, there 00:36:54.920 --> 00:36:59.739 is nothing that can provide escape. Lenin and 00:36:59.739 --> 00:37:03.239 Stalin both denied that there was a God. They 00:37:03.239 --> 00:37:05.699 lived for the here and now materialistic world 00:37:05.699 --> 00:37:08.599 and sought to enforce their dictatorship over 00:37:08.599 --> 00:37:12.269 the masses and they did. A dictatorship which 00:37:12.269 --> 00:37:14.750 is now beginning to crumble as we know. A system 00:37:14.750 --> 00:37:17.829 that is passing away because it's so irrelevant. 00:37:19.610 --> 00:37:22.349 But they were very powerful men who defied God. 00:37:22.769 --> 00:37:26.289 But when the moment of judgment came, there was 00:37:26.289 --> 00:37:28.230 nothing that could deliver them from the hand 00:37:28.230 --> 00:37:35.469 of God. That's not only true of atheists and 00:37:35.469 --> 00:37:39.150 of communists. It's true of wealthy capitalists 00:37:39.150 --> 00:37:43.650 too. Was it just two weeks ago or three weeks 00:37:43.650 --> 00:37:47.010 ago that Malcolm Forbes, one of the richest men 00:37:47.010 --> 00:37:51.650 in the whole world, who threw a luxurious, extravagant 00:37:51.650 --> 00:37:55.010 party for his 70th birthday last year and flew 00:37:55.010 --> 00:37:57.530 people in from all over the world on Concord 00:37:57.530 --> 00:38:01.210 jets that they might celebrate with him. The 00:38:01.210 --> 00:38:05.489 rich and the famous and the wealthy. But when 00:38:05.489 --> 00:38:09.900 God's moment came for him to die, he died. and 00:38:09.900 --> 00:38:14.480 there was none who could deliver. We dare not 00:38:14.480 --> 00:38:18.360 take for granted God's compassion and God's patience 00:38:18.360 --> 00:38:23.880 so that we might live as we would choose. But 00:38:23.880 --> 00:38:27.500 rather we must heed His gracious call to repentance 00:38:27.500 --> 00:38:35.280 and live in such a way as would please Him. For 00:38:35.280 --> 00:38:38.920 someone here today that may mean a moment of 00:38:38.920 --> 00:38:42.400 salvation for you, an opportunity yet today to 00:38:42.400 --> 00:38:47.460 trust Jesus Christ. It may be that you have defied 00:38:47.460 --> 00:38:50.679 God openly, or it may be that outwardly you have 00:38:50.679 --> 00:38:54.219 been a very religious person, but there has not 00:38:54.219 --> 00:38:58.019 been that submission to God that is genuine faith. 00:38:59.599 --> 00:39:03.400 My friend, if you persist in either overt or 00:39:03.400 --> 00:39:06.960 covert rebellion against God, judgment will come 00:39:06.960 --> 00:39:09.780 inevitably. The handwriting is already on the 00:39:09.780 --> 00:39:27.400 wall. Someone has written a poem that says, They 00:39:27.400 --> 00:39:30.920 were seized with consternation at the hand upon 00:39:30.920 --> 00:39:34.940 the wall. See the brave captive Daniel as he 00:39:34.940 --> 00:39:37.639 stood before the throng and rebuking the haughty 00:39:37.639 --> 00:39:41.199 monarch for his mighty deeds of wrong. As he 00:39:41.199 --> 00:39:44.239 read out the writing, "'Twas the doom of one 00:39:44.239 --> 00:39:47.820 and all, for the kingdom was now finished,' said 00:39:47.820 --> 00:39:52.980 the hand upon the wall." So our deeds are recorded. 00:39:53.920 --> 00:39:57.550 There's a hand that's writing now. Sinner, give 00:39:57.550 --> 00:40:00.929 your heart to Jesus, to His royal mandate bow. 00:40:01.829 --> 00:40:04.670 For the day is approaching, it must come to one 00:40:04.670 --> 00:40:08.929 and all when a sinner's condemnation will be 00:40:08.929 --> 00:40:15.489 written on the wall. When God's moment of judgment 00:40:15.489 --> 00:40:21.250 arrives, it's too late. And there's nothing that 00:40:21.250 --> 00:40:27.000 can deliver one at that moment. Behold, today 00:40:27.000 --> 00:40:30.800 is the day of salvation. Now is the time of salvation. 00:40:31.159 --> 00:40:34.000 Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon 00:40:34.000 --> 00:40:39.639 Him while He is near. But I don't want to close 00:40:39.639 --> 00:40:42.159 before I come to another important application 00:40:42.159 --> 00:40:50.679 that we see in this text today. It is possible 00:40:50.679 --> 00:40:57.190 to be a Daniel. By that I mean a person of integrity 00:40:57.190 --> 00:41:01.030 and a person of purity in the midst of a pagan 00:41:01.030 --> 00:41:07.349 anti -God culture. That does not happen automatically. 00:41:08.829 --> 00:41:11.969 Daniel was taken as a young teenager into this 00:41:11.969 --> 00:41:15.190 culture. It is obvious that his parents had done 00:41:15.190 --> 00:41:19.530 quite a job nurturing him in the law of the Lord 00:41:19.530 --> 00:41:24.599 and the knowledge of the true God. Because that 00:41:24.599 --> 00:41:27.159 nurturing had been so effective when he was taken 00:41:27.159 --> 00:41:29.980 away from them, from their home, from his homeland, 00:41:30.059 --> 00:41:34.059 from his culture, and put into the midst of a 00:41:34.059 --> 00:41:37.280 pagan culture, he was able to stand and did that 00:41:37.280 --> 00:41:40.340 very first year, you recall, when he purposed 00:41:40.340 --> 00:41:43.480 in his heart he would not defile himself with 00:41:43.480 --> 00:41:48.079 the king's food. It is possible to be a Daniel 00:41:48.079 --> 00:41:53.929 in the United States of America in 1990. Whether 00:41:53.929 --> 00:41:57.710 one is a teenager or one is an old, older person, 00:41:57.869 --> 00:42:01.309 a senior, it is possible to be a Daniel, a person 00:42:01.309 --> 00:42:07.949 of purity, a person of integrity. What obligation 00:42:07.949 --> 00:42:11.670 there is to those of us who are parents to so 00:42:11.670 --> 00:42:14.210 nurture our children that as they are raised 00:42:14.210 --> 00:42:21.650 up, they will become Daniels. But if we're going 00:42:21.650 --> 00:42:24.469 to be a Daniel, it also requires our own personal 00:42:24.469 --> 00:42:29.090 spiritual development. It means taking courage 00:42:29.090 --> 00:42:35.030 to walk the unpopular path if necessary, to be 00:42:35.030 --> 00:42:39.530 the one who will stand alone. It means having 00:42:39.530 --> 00:42:43.650 commitment to lay everything on the line, to 00:42:43.650 --> 00:42:46.550 consecrate one's whole life to the Lord alone, 00:42:46.550 --> 00:42:52.559 and to refuse the spoils. of a culture that is 00:42:52.559 --> 00:42:58.619 falling. The purple robes, the gold necklaces, 00:42:59.039 --> 00:43:02.039 and the positions of power offered by our culture 00:43:02.039 --> 00:43:08.280 today are nothing. For as surely as Babylon was 00:43:08.280 --> 00:43:11.380 under the judgment of God, so is this culture 00:43:11.380 --> 00:43:17.170 we live in. And it is passing away. and will 00:43:17.170 --> 00:43:20.590 one day and one day soon, I think, be no more 00:43:20.590 --> 00:43:29.429 as we know it than how wise to be a Daniel, as 00:43:29.429 --> 00:43:31.889 the writer of the children's song said, dare 00:43:31.889 --> 00:43:38.929 to be a Daniel, dare to stand alone, dare to 00:43:38.929 --> 00:43:47.320 have a purpose firm, dare to make it known. I 00:43:47.320 --> 00:43:49.500 call upon all of us today who have knowledge 00:43:49.500 --> 00:43:53.900 of the true God to purpose in our hearts to be 00:43:53.900 --> 00:43:58.559 men and women who are like Daniels in the midst 00:43:58.559 --> 00:44:03.360 of our culture. Let's bow together in prayer. 00:44:08.739 --> 00:44:11.219 With our heads bowed, I wonder just how the Spirit 00:44:11.219 --> 00:44:15.690 of God would have you to respond. If you're a 00:44:15.690 --> 00:44:17.650 child of his, I would hope that you would in 00:44:17.650 --> 00:44:20.750 your heart right now purpose before God and say, 00:44:21.110 --> 00:44:26.150 I want to be like a Daniel. In the midst of a 00:44:26.150 --> 00:44:30.849 culture that is likewise pagan, as was his, that 00:44:30.849 --> 00:44:34.750 is likewise under the judgment of God because 00:44:34.750 --> 00:44:39.550 of its debauchery, its immorality, its murder, 00:44:39.769 --> 00:44:43.670 and its wickedness. In the midst of all of this, 00:44:43.840 --> 00:44:47.619 I purpose by the grace of God to be a Daniel, 00:44:49.239 --> 00:44:55.019 a man, a woman of God who would even stand alone 00:44:55.019 --> 00:45:04.119 to be faithful. I would shun what the world offers. 00:45:05.139 --> 00:45:08.980 I would turn away from the spoils of the culture 00:45:08.980 --> 00:45:16.179 which entrap. and be God's man and God's woman 00:45:16.179 --> 00:45:19.199 where he's placed me. Oh, I would hope there'd 00:45:19.199 --> 00:45:22.179 be hundreds of us today would respond that way. 00:45:25.440 --> 00:45:30.360 Maybe there's someone here who is facing the 00:45:30.360 --> 00:45:34.360 handwriting on the wall. Your time is about up. 00:45:36.420 --> 00:45:39.380 Your days have been numbered. You have been weighed 00:45:39.380 --> 00:45:42.139 in the balances and you're wanting, you're lacking. 00:45:45.489 --> 00:45:48.650 And yet there is an opportunity, because of God's 00:45:48.650 --> 00:45:52.929 grace, His love, for you to repent and to trust 00:45:52.929 --> 00:45:56.670 Jesus Christ, to live your life for Him. Will 00:45:56.670 --> 00:46:01.130 you do that? Will you tell Him that today? Will 00:46:01.130 --> 00:46:03.530 you give yourself to Him without reservation, 00:46:04.530 --> 00:46:05.730 in faith and in love?