August 19, 2007 "The Best Part of Waking Up"

Aug19’07

Living a life of Prayer, Praise and Peace
Daniel 6:1-28

[Outline- first 6 points- from Warren Wiersbe Expository Outlines on the Old Testament, Quick Verse 6]

Imagine awaking tomorrow morning, pouring a cup of coffee, opening your Bible and communing with the Lord in your own back yard when suddenly armed guards scale your fences and arrest you. You would wonder what country you were in!

Of course, this seems a bit far-fetched for us as Americans. However, we have brothers and sisters around the world who cannot worship as openly as we do, they hardly dare to carry their Bibles in public and certainly have to be careful as to how they display their faith.

However, the reality for someone such as Daniel was a clear and present danger everyday. He not only was kidnapped as part of a noble family in Judah as a fifteen year-old, but was forced to work for foreign kings and leaders- many of whom not only did not worship the God he worshiped but were spiteful and hateful towards him. For over 80 years he established himself as a man who stood firm not to be defiled with the king’s meat and to be a man of integrity and humility.

Daniel made the most of his exile to a foreign land. Sure, he harbored the hope and prayer of returning to his home city of Jerusalem. But in the meantime, he made the most of every opportunity to serve the Babylonian masters that were over him.

In this 6th Chapter Daniel experiences a twenty-four hour period that is perhaps the most eventful of any Old Testament character. (So I will be attempting to cram a 24 hour sermon into 30-40 minutes.)

In this chapter we spend a day in the life of the prime minister of the Medo-Persian Empire. Daniel is not a teenager in this chapter; he is a man in his eighties. Old age was not going to get him down anymore than it did in his younger years. Age is no barrier to serving Christ, nor is old age any protection against temptation and testing. Because Daniel started young as a man of faith and prayer, he was faithful to the Lord even in his old age.

My goal is to help us realize that the best part of waking up for the Christian is that nurturing relationship we have with God through Jesus Christ. Your faith gets challenged everyday- certainly through temptation the devil brings and by other people who either despise the God we serve or misunderstand who we really are.

Daniel shows us that being faithful is the only way to live and that God honors the faithfulness of his people. Furthermore, God brings divine protection in times of hostility from the enemy of our soul.

1. A Dawn of Devotion
One of our people shared with the Wednesday Bible Study group that she was grateful for everyday that the Lord gives to her. I wonder if any of us- especially those of us under sixty consider the brevity of life enough to realize that each day that dawns is another opportunity to give praise to our Lord with our lives.

Daniel sets for us an example of how his day began.

How did Daniel begin each day? He prayed to the Lord. In verse10 we are told that Daniel prayed three times a day in a special “prayer chamber” on top of his house.

Psalm 55:17- “Evening, morning and noon, I cry out in distress and he hears my voice.”

Daniel started his day with the Lord and it’s a good thing that he did. Maybe that is a lesson for us to learn about our daily prayer habit. The enemy is always going to and fro seeking whom he may devour just as he was afoot against Daniel. And Daniel was going to face one of the greatest tests of his life.

Prayer was not an incidental thing in Daniel’s life nor was it accidental; prayer was the most essential thing in his life. And the same should hold true for us.

Notice a few things about Daniel’s prayer life:

a. He had special times of prayer.

You can be sure that he talked to the Lord all day long. The Apostle Paul speaks to the Thessalonians of praying without ceasing.” God certainly smiled on Daniel for his consistency in prayer by calling him “greatly beloved” or “highly esteemed.” (9:23; 10:11, 19), language that in the NT the Lord reserves for His own Son.

b. He had a special place for prayer.

It was Daniel’s faithful walk and consistent prayer life that made him one of God’s “beloved sons” (read John 14:21-23 carefully). How important it is to start the day with the Lord. Abraham had this habit (Gen. 19:27); so did David (Ps. 5:3) and our Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 1:35).

c. He had special answers to prayer.

Over and over Daniel came before the Lord in prayer believing that God will answer. A great example of this is found in 2;18 when faced with an “answer or else” command to interpreting the kings dream. “He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.”

d. He recognized his status in prayer.

Daniel realized that God was God and he was the child of God. He never lost sight of his status, if you will, with God. His prayer life was not one of treating God like Santa Claus but seeing God in his awesome power. Daniel was truly desperate for more of God and his prayer life showed this.

e. He assumed the same position in prayer.

Have you ever spent time on your knees praying before the Lord? Have you assumed the prostrated position on the floor before a holy and awesome God? Perhaps some of us would do well to not simply “kneel in my heart” but actually make it a truly physical act of an inward reality.

2. A Morning of Deception (6:1-9)
The Medo-Persian government under King Darius was governed by 3 prime ministers and 120 satraps- that is, provincial administrators. Darius realized that he was getting fleeced by some of these leaders so he reorganized his kingdom, making Daniel one of the top three “presidents” and then considered giving him the leadership keys over his whole kingdom. This shows us that…

a. A Christian does not have to compromise to succeed.

God had honored Daniel for his faithfulness, so that he was practically the second ruler in the land. There were actually 124 persons involved in the leadership of the land: Darius the king, the three presidents (with Daniel as #1), and 120 princes. We see that Darius was so impressed with Daniel that he was planning to make him the official second ruler. The promotions of Daniel in Babylon are proof that a believer does not have to compromise to succeed (Matt. 6:33).

b. The wicked are continually jealous.

The other 122 leaders were not too happy about Daniel’s success. For one thing, he was an alien and a Jew. Satan has always hated God’s people and always did his best to persecute them and eliminate them. The wicked always hate the just. Certainly godly Daniel was honest and kept careful watch over the affairs of state; the other leaders were stealing from the king and covering up their thefts with false accounts.

c. Sometimes opposition will not make sense.

The wicked lie about God’s people. In this case, they told Darius that all the presidents agreed on the plan to worship him (v. 7) even though Daniel had never been consulted. But Darius, in his puffed up pride and gullibility, agreed to sign the decree without first consulting with his best president. But history shows that Darius was easily influenced by flattery.

Sometimes opposition will come up against us and it just won’t make sense. It’s one thing to run into antagonism and know what the reasons are. And then there are those times when someone will oppose us that seemed like they were on our side.

d. The Christian always trusts God- no matter what!

But notice Daniel’s attitude in all of this: he trusted God (v. 23).

3. A Noon of Decision (6:10-13)
How many times have any of us received bad news? What do we do in those times? Do we stew in worry all day? Or do we hit our knees in prayer?

a. Daniel refused to altar his lifestyle to accommodate sin.

Daniel was one of the first ones to hear of the new decree, and he had to decide what to do. Of course, his godly character and spiritual walk had already decided for him: he would serve the Lord and pray to Jehovah just as he had always done.

b. Daniel refused to compromise his Biblical values.

Daniel could have made excuses and compromised. He was an old man who had served the Lord faithfully all his life. One little compromise at the end of his life could not do too much damage. Could he not be more useful to the Lord alive than dead? No. Daniel refused to compromise.

He chose rather to be eaten by lions than to miss one prayer meeting.

c. Daniel remained steadfast despite the peering eyes.

His enemies watched as Daniel went to his prayer chamber where the windows were always open (“Pray without ceasing”), and they could see him kneel and lift up his hands toward Jerusalem. Now they had him. But Daniel had peace in his heart. He was praying, giving thanks, and making supplication, and this is the formula for peace (Phil. 4:6-7).

d. Daniel had built a spiritual discipline that he was not about to break.

Daniel was used to praying and had been since he was a teenager. So to go to prayer in a time of distress was normal. He had built a spiritual discipline of prayer in his everyday life.

To our young people: It is important for you to see the wisdom in building spiritual habits when you are young.

4. A Sundown of Disappointment (6:14-17)

There are two very important realizations about Daniel’s predicament:
First,
a. King Darius was foolish and realized it too late. (v. 14)

Second,
b. Daniel’s Enemies reminded the king of the law. (v. 15)

The king realized what a fool he had been, but even his power and wealth could not alter the law of the Medes and Persians.

c. God did not want Darius to deliver Daniel; that was a privilege He was reserving for Himself.

Daniel was not depending on the king either. Psalm 146:3 tells us: “Do not put your trust in princes, nor in mortal men, who cannot save.”

Have we learned like Daniel the whole idea of trusting God no matter what circumstance we are in? When you are faced with a den of lions see what Daniel saw: God did not want to save Daniel from the lions’ den; He wanted to deliver him out of it.

And it may mean you go through a problematic situation, but in the midst of it- if you trust God- he will bring a deliverance that will blow you away.

5. A Night of Deliverance (6:18-23)

a. The contrast between Daniel and King Darius.

What a contrast between Darius in his palace and Daniel in the lions’ den. Darius had no peace, yet Daniel was perfectly at peace with himself, the Lord, and the lions. Daniel was in a place of perfect safety, for God was there.

Darius had labored all the previous day to save Daniel from judgment, yet he could not break his own laws. Daniel simply talked to the God of the universe and received all the power he needed. In every way, Daniel was reigning as king while Darius was a slave.

b. Daniel’s faith in God delivered him (6:23; Heb. 11:33).

It is amazing that he had any faith at all, after living in that idolatrous heathen land for so many years. His daily fellowship with the Lord was the secret: he had faith, and he was faithful. See Ps. 18:17-24.

Christians today face many temptations to compromise, and it often appears that the “safest” course is to go with the crowd. But this is the most dangerous course. The only really safe place is in the will of God. Daniel knew that it was wrong to worship the king and pray to him, because Daniel knew God’s Word. He would rather die obeying God’s Word than live outside of God’s will.

Satan comes as a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8-9) and uses our enemies to try to devour us (2 Tim. 4:17). However, God can deliver us if it is for His glory. It is not always God’s will to deliver His children from danger; many Christians have given their lives in the place of duty.

Jesus tells the Church at Smyrna in Revelation 2:10- “Be faithful even to the point of death and I will give you the crown of life.”

6. A Morning of Destruction (6:24)

Morning finally arrives. Coffee is brewing in the diners. People are beginning another day of business and life. But in the palace of the king judgment is coming.

But God came through. God delivered Daniel from the mouths of the lions. And the sin of the those opposed to him was truly revealed.

I’ve wondered what these guys were thinking the next morning? Fear certainly had come over them to see that Daniel had survived. The result of their sin- like any other sin- had huge ramifications

a. Sin is always a tragedy.

Sin- in any way or form- is a tragedy. This should be a lesson to any of us who strive to demean or bring down any of God’s people.

b. Reaping the whirlwind of what one sows.

Galatians 6:7 gives us this warning: “Be not deceived, God is not mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” Hosea 8:7- “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.”

Sin out of control has it penalty that is usually far greater than the crime itself.

It’s frustrating to see the results of what sin does in a person’s life. Look at these jealous leaders who attempted to dispose of Daniel in a false way: death. They brought the wrath of the King upon them that not only affected them but their wives and children.

Let me interject this warning: there are those Christians who have tried to bring down God’s leaders- especially pastors that they have disagreed with. Things are inappropriately said, rumors are invented and spread. In fact, if a spiritual leader falls from grace they seem to take great delight.

Furthermore, in our community more recently, the Village Council has made a personnel decision that some people have vehemently disagreed with. Now I am not setting them up as “Daniels” in this case, but they are governmental leaders that we must respect as Christians.

Whether they have made the right decision, recently, or not isn’t the issue here. What is an issue to me is the backyard gossip and unfounded accusations about council members. This is thoroughly and completely inappropriate. The same holds true for any of the same being spoken about the person they dismissed. I would hope that we as Christians and especially members of this Wesleyan Church set an example of doing what is right.

For any of us that have been falsely accused, hang in there. Truth and God somehow win out in the end.

c. God will always be glorified.

Remember, God always vindicates His own. “The righteous is delivered from trouble, and it comes to the wicked instead.” (Proverbs 11:18)

God permitted Daniel to go through this experience (vv. 25-27). Why? Because it brought great glory to His name. When Christians overcome temptation, they always glorify the Lord, even if only the angels and demons are watching. May we, like the Apostle Paul, desire that Christ might be magnified in our bodies, as he wrote “whether by life or by death” (Phil. 1:20).

7. The Dawn of New-found Faith. (25-28)

King Darius discovered through Daniel’s unshakable faith the realization of God and seems to have put his personal trust in him.

So what do we learn from King Darius’ and his reaction the next morning?

a. Our actions do influence other people.

b. Do right when people are looking and when people are not looking.

c. Trust God to see you through the tribulation.

d. Know that God has a bigger plan than you can see.

Conclusion: Final Lessons from the Lion’s Den:

• Daniel exhibited a life-time of trusting and obeying.

What is your life-time habit going to be? Do you trust God? Are you obedient to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life?

• Prayer is the heart-beat of your relationship with God.
Is prayer a spiritual habit that defines your private life with Christ? I don’t ask this to build up guilt but to draw each of us into a necessary lifestyle. Prayer to the Christian should be like water and food to a thirsty and hungry man.

• There's no need to worry about today... or tomorrow.

Do you worry about the situation and circumstances you are in right now? Worry is a natural by product of being human. But God calls us to supersede worry with trusting him.