Faithfulness That Honors God - Voddie Baucham

as we come to Daniel chapter six in our journey through wonderful book we come to what is in many respects a potentially dangerous part of the book here in Daniel chapter six dangerous but potentially dangerous for at least a couple of reasons what one reason that this potentially dangerous is it's one of the most well known stories in the entire Bible Daniel and the Lions Den and it's always dangerous when we know something so well because we have a tendency to sort of fill in the blanks and if we're not careful with those passages of Scripture that we know so very well and if we don't read them and reread them we assume that we know them we assume that we understand them we assume that we put the emphasis on the right sulabha in every instance because of how familiar we are with the text there's a second reason that this is a potentially dangerous passage of Scripture and that is because this is absolute rife ground for works/righteousness it is so tempting and so easy to go to Daniel chapter 6 and view Daniel merely as a template for us if you will for us to go to Daniel chapter 6 and say see this is what Daniel did therefore this is what you should do because after all the Book of Daniel is all about us looking to Daniel to learn how to live is it not if you've been here you should be shaking your head like this right now no that is not what the Book of Daniel is all about that is not why the Book of Daniel exists that is not the purpose of Daniel chapter 6 Daniel chapter 6 does not exist to raise a bar for us to attempt to jump over in our own strength there is much more at work in this passage than that but that is the easy knee-jerk reaction as we look more closely however we see in Daniel chapter 6 especially in those first 15 verses that we'll concentrate on today we don't even get to the Lions Den today here we just get the set up to the Lions net we find out how that came to pass and in this passage what we'll see is faithfulness that honors God that's the picture here it's a picture of faithfulness that honors God we have come through the first five chapters of this great book and in the first three chapters we see Daniel and his friends in Babylonian captivity and in the first three chapters we see this juxtaposition of God's people in exile and the great King Nebuchadnezzar and the God who rules the world who reminds the great king that he rules the world and Nebuchadnezzar who believes that he is the one who actually rules the world and we see God through Daniel and Hananiah Mishael and Azariah showing Nebuchadnezzar again and again and again who's in control until finally in Chapter four God sends Nebuchadnezzar into the wilderness to live like a wild animal eating grass for seven years until he finally boughs the knee and confesses the holiness and righteousness and sovereignty of God and then he's gone unceremoniously and in Chapter five Belshazzar is king we don't know where nebuchadnezzar went we don't know how he lived the rest of his life we just see that Belshazzar is king now at the end of chapter five belle she has gone deposed by Darius and now the Babylonians have been deposed so we've done from we've gone from one king who was a Babylonian king to another King who was a Babylonian and a couple of kings between those Kings - now the Medes and Persians are ruling and Darius is king and in the midst of all of this turmoil there is a name that remains and that is the name of Daniel God's servant Daniel God's trophy if you will in the midst of Babylonian captivity that reminds you reminds me and at this time reminded all of God's people that God is faithful to his people that God will fulfill his promise that although his people at times will be chastened for their sin God does not forsake his people and so Daniel stands as this picture of faithfulness that the faithfulness of Daniel which is a picture of the faithfulness of God to preserve his people don't miss that it's not about Daniel as much as it is about God who is faithful to preserve his people even in the midst of exile in Chapter five Daniels Babylonian name was used again and again and again Delta Shazzer belt - as their belt the Shazzer we heard over and over again now the Babylonians are gone and he's called Daniel again by the way that is significant it's a significant point the Babylonians tried to make him a babylonian and they couldn't make him a babylonian they changed to try to change his diet eventually did change his diet that didn't make him a babylonian they changed his location that didn't make him a babylonian they changed his language that didn't make him a babylonian they changed his name that didn't make him a babylonian they changed his job and his vocation and his training and his education none of that made him a babylonian now the Babylonians are gone and Daniel and they don't call him delta Shazzer they call him Daniel because he is not a Babylonian that is part of the picture of the faithfulness that pleases God or the faithfulness that honors God several things that I want us to see as we read through this text first thing I want you to see is this that this faithfulness that honors God is a blessing to the kingdom of man the faithfulness that honors God is actually a blessing to the kingdom of man that not just a blessing to God's people but it's actually a blessing also to the kingdom of man look at the first four verses if you will it pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps to be throughout the whole kingdom and over them three presidents of whom Daniel was one to whom these satraps should give account so that the King might suffer no loss you might want to underline that so that the King might suffer no loss then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other presidents and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him and the King planned to set him over the whole kingdom then the presidents and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault because he was faithful and no error or fault was found in him it's a beautiful picture of faithfulness in Daniels life but I want you to notice something about the faithfulness in Daniels life because oftentimes when we think about a faithfulness that honors God immediately our mind goes to the religious hierarchy I want to show you a picture of faithfulness that honors God well certainly we're talking about martyr at the top of the pyramid right now we're not talking about a martyr well if we're not talking about a martyr then we're definitely talking about a missionary right well we're not talking about a mission okay if we're not talking about a martyr or a missionary they certainly were talking about a pastor no not talking about a pastor well if it's not a martyr and it's not a missionary it's not a pastor then certainly it's some person who oversees some significant ministry no actually it's not it's none of those things and yet this faithfulness pleases God Daniel is not serving in the temple and yet his faithfulness pleases God Daniel's not even serving in Jerusalem people he's not even in the promised land and yet his is a faithfulness that pleases God Daniel is in exile serving a king who does not know God and His faithfulness pleases God listen to this from Ian Dugan the first point to observe in this chapter is that Daniel had learned how to live as a pilgrim from the outset of his career in Babylon Daniel was in his culture but not of his culture on the one hand he didn't withdraw from Babylonian culture as far as he could in order to avoid being stained by it on the contrary he had now served the Empire in order he's sorry on the contrary he had now served the Empire faithfully for almost 70 years let that sink in for a minute folks for almost 70 years he served the Empire far from using his age as an excuse to retire he continued to serve the new administration Belshazzar had been replaced as king by Darius and the Babylonian Empire had been replaced by that of the Medes and the Persians but Daniel kept on serving in fact Daniel served the Empire so well that he continued to get promoted he's not in the temple he's not a priest he's not a missionary he's not a pastor he's an exiled slave and he honors God with his life and his service and it is a blessing even to those whom he serves oh that that could be said of us oh that the mark of Christ on our lives and our walk with God as redeemed individuals bought with a price the precious blood of Christ would live our lives in such a manner that even in workplaces that have absolutely nothing to do with gospel ministry people would look upon our lives and see the faithfulness of our God and our faithfulness to our God overflowing from the faithfulness of our God and be blessed because there's nobody else that they'd rather tap for a position than us that's Daniel that's God's faithfulness by the way Daniel is serving this way because he's been told to he's living this way because he's been instructed to well how do I know that oh I know that because I read Jeremiah what does Jeremiah have to do with Daniel well if you go to Jeremiah chapter 29 you'll see exactly what I'm talking about turn with me if you will and look at Jeremiah to the left Isaiah Jeremiah lamentations all right Jeremiah Jeremiah chapter 29 we all know and love Jeremiah 29:11 and we know and love it because we rip it kicking and screaming out of its context and then we bludgeon it to death until it says something that it was never intended to set but if you look at Jeremiah 29 1 you learned something about Daniel and why he's doing what he's doing Jeremiah chapter 29 beginning of verse 1 these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the Prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles and to the priests the prophets and the people whom never could Nezzer had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon who's that Daniel and the boys Jeremiah the Prophet wrote them a letter and here's what we find in the letter this was after King Jack and I and the Queen Mother the eunuchs official of Judah and Jerusalem the craftsmen and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem the letter was sent by the hand to be lost of the son of shaphan and gamma and gamma riah the son of Hilkiah whom Zedekiah king of judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon it said here's what he says thus says the Lord of hosts the God of Israel to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon that's Daniel build houses and live in them plant gardens and eat their produce take wives and have sons and daughters take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage that they may have their sons and daughters multiplied there and do not decrease but seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf for in its welfare you will find your welfare God told Daniel through Jeremiah to seek the welfare of the place where he went into exile and he did exactly that and he did it in such an exemplary fashion that first of all Darius doesn't kill him they think about that folks Darius walks in he doesn't know who's who Darius is taken over the Babylonian Empire but he doesn't kill Daniel not only does he not kill Daniel but so far and but but this is just first one we don't know how long this has been but here's what we know that rather quickly Darius who puts a hundred and twenty men over the entire region and then puts three men over those men and eventually one man over the three men starts by putting Daniel in the position of the three men who oversee the 120 and then according to the text makes a decision to make Daniel over the three men who were over the 120 who were over the entire kingdom why because Daniel was obedient to the Word of God and he looked to the best interest even of the country where he was sent into exile Daniel is serving the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians why because God has raised up the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians Daniel is not serving and false piety nor is he serving in what we would call cultural piety he wasn't Christianizing the culture as we would say today you're really faithful to God if your Christianizing the culture if you're making the culture more Christian it's not what Daniel was doing Daniel wasn't Judaizing the Medes in the persons he wasn't taking over the politics or the government other means in the Persians again that's what we say if you're if you're a real Christian then you will go into government and you're going to politics and you take it over so you can make everybody live under our rule instead of under someone else's rule it's not what Daniel is doing Daniel wasn't feeding the poor that's not the faithfulness that stood out here in Daniel chapter 6 he wasn't feeding the poor is it a bad thing is any of this stuff bad no but it's not what he was doing Daniel wasn't transforming the system Daniel wasn't improving the plight of the exiles there's nothing here about Daniel seeing to it that the Jewish exiles are treated better daniel was helping darius mitigate his losses that's what it says in verse 2 look again in verse 2 and over them three presidents of whom Daniel was one to whom these sat traps would give account why so that the king might suffer no loss that's Daniels great job see to it that Darius your oppressor doesn't suffer loss this is so counterintuitive admit completely and utterly counterintuitive but this is faithfulness that honors God folks don't buy in to this picture of the world that says we have to be of the world not in it that's backwards we have to be in the world but not of it we have to be in the world but you know what we've done what we've done is we've said well we'll be in the world but only after we make the world like us so our goal of being in the world will be to change the world so that we're no longer uncomfortable in the world news flash that's what happens at the end of the age when Christ returns you don't get that now amen you don't get that now you get that in me at the end of the age right now we're pilgrims right now we're exiles so what do you do you find yourself faithful wherever the Lord puts you that's what you do and sometimes that may mean just making sure that the king doesn't suffer a loss because that's where God's got you serving so if God's got you working for ConocoPhillips you you don't have to make ConocoPhillips a Christian company we could talk about that for a long time in order to be faithful to God at ConocoPhillips or HP or wherever you happen to work you know what your faithfulness to God may look like seeing to it that your employer doesn't suffer loss under your watch but you've been so conditioned that there are some of you under the sound of my voice right now and you work for a company somewhere and your job is as simple as seeing to it that your employer suffers no loss but you desire to serve God so you're trying to figure out how you can get out of the business world and into the quote unquote ministry so that you can really serve the Lord newsflash faithfulness that honors God it's a blessing to the kingdom of man it's a blessing to the kingdom of man faithfulness where you are here me mother sits there every day changing diapers cleaning up vomit spanking children again and again and again for the same stuff Amen somebody I know that sometimes you sit there with the rod in your hand going really there's got to be more than this and there is there is more than that you know what's more than that the next spanking you're being faithful where God has placed you because God is faithful and God grant you faithfulness there are others of you who sit there and your circumstances not exactly what you would want your circumstance to be and you just believe that you could do and be so much more if God would just put you in that right position maybe if he puts you on that pyramid martyr missionary pastor Christian worker Daniel chapter six screams to us God is the God of the whole world amen and men are made in His image and because men are made in His image you do good to God when you do good to men and it's enough it's enough secondly faithfulness that honors God is the fruit of true religion it's the fruit of true religion verse five then the men said we shall not find any ground for complaint against Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God notice in verse four in verse four they're trying to find some way to get King Darius not to elevate this slave exiled Jew to the highest position of honor in the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians he didn't look like us he didn't smell like us he didn't eat like us he didn't talk like us he's not one of us do not put him in this high position guys we got to figure out how to get Daniel out of this high position that's great let's go find something that he did wrong because he's not one of us certainly if he's not one of us he's doing something wrong what did you find in your investigation he's doing everything the King asked him to do we cannot find anything in his job description that he's not doing and excelling that how are we gonna get to this guy I know how we get to him we must pit the law of his God against the law of the Medes and the Persians that's the only way to get to Daniel force him to choose between the law of his God and the law of the Medes and the Persians that's it Oh Steve realized what kind of statement that is Daniel is obedient to the law of God Daniel is obedient to the law of God and he was known for his obedience to the law of God they knew this about him it was so well known about their to him that when these individuals decided to try to drive a wedge between him and Darius they knew the one place where they could go to drive that wedge they move at one place that they had to go to drive wedge Daniel is not going to forsake the king even though the king is not his king but more importantly than that Daniel's not going to forsake the law of his God in fact that's the only thing that can cause him to forsake the king whom God has called him to serve that is submission to Authority he is going to submit to Authority even though he doesn't like the authority and the authority is not worthy of his submission he's going to submit to his authority because it's the authority that God has placed over his life no matter what ah unless that authority forbids what God commands or commands what god forbids because his submission is actually a byproduct of his submission to God listen to this from psalm 119 that beautiful psalm about the law of god verses beginning at verse 9 how can a young man keep his way pure by guarding it according to your word with my whole heart I seek you let me not wander from your Commandments I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you blessed are you O Lord teach me your statutes with my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth in the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways I will delight in your statutes I will not forget your word deal bountifully with your servant that I may live and keep your word open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law I am a sojourner on the earth and it beautiful I am a Sojourner on the earth there's Daniel I'm a sojourner on the earth hide not your Commandments from me my soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times you rebuked the insolent accursed ones who wander from your commandments and then listen to this take away from me and contempt for I have kept your testimonies even though Prince's sit plotting against me your servant will meditate on your statutes your testimonies are my delight they are my counselors even though Prince's plot against me it's your word that satisfies me it's your law that satisfies me plus the law is a perfect reflection of God's holiness and the law is good we don't like the law but listen to what Paul says about the law in Romans chapter 7 verses 7 and 12 what then shall we say that the law is sin by no means yet if it had not been for the law I would not have known sin for I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said you shall not covet verse 12 so the law is holy and the commandment is holy and righteous and good it is holy and righteous and good yeah but didn't Jesus come to free us from the law no Jesus came to free us to the law amen he came to free us to the law the law that was crushing us the law that showed us our guilt Jesus came in order to fulfill the law in order that he might impute his righteousness to us that we might be completely and utterly righteous before the law and then out of our delight and our gratitude we were obedient to the law Hebrews 4:14 2:16 since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens Jesus the Son of God let us hold fast our confession for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but one who is in every respect who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to hell in time of need folks as followers of Christ we delight in the law of the Lord first and foremost because we've been freed from its terror and secondly because we have been transformed because of Christ finished work to where we are able to delight in the righteousness of God that is depicted in the law of God but what about all the ceremonial laws yes we delight in the ceremonial laws what do we keep them no they've been kept and we celebrate the fact that Christ Himself is the fulfillment of every one of them there's a second piece here not just as adherence to the law but his dependence upon God in prayer look at verse 10 in verse 10 they've gone with a document before the king and basically the document says that no request or worship is to be offered to anyone else for the next thirty days and the King signs it when Daniel knew the document had been signed he went to his house where he had windows in the upper chamber opened toward Jerusalem he got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he had done previously Daniel finds out that there's a decree that would forbid him to pray for 30 days and when he finds out about it he goes to pray in front of an open window facing Jerusalem several things we see here first of all we see Daniels practice of prayer that he prayed three times a day listen to psalm 55:17 evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan and he hears my voice it's not a command in the scripture that we pray three times a day Mohammed actually picked up on this this idea of Daniel and his prayer three times a day and Mohammed has instituted in Islam the religion that he invented a prayer five times a day Mohammed however changes the focus from praying toward Jerusalem to praying toward Mecca although today Muslims in their desire to destroy the Jews have announced that Jerusalem is their capital but that's a stolen practice not a legitimate one and it demonstrates a complete ignorance as to what Daniel was doing and why why did he pray toward Jerusalem well he prayed towards Jerusalem because he had been told to pray toward Jerusalem how do I know that while I know that because I read chronicles listen to this and second chronicles chapter 6 beginning at verse 36 turn there if you will second chronicles chapter 6 beginning at verse 36 because again if all we do is we look here and Daniel's sorted this template for us then you know so far we come up with you know you got to pray three times a day and when you pray you got to face toward Jerusalem what's that about second chronicles chapter six beginning at verse 36 this is Solomon speaking to the Lord as he consecrates the temple that he is built if they sin against you for there is no one who does not sin and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy so that they are carried away captive to a land far or near but did you catch that Solomon is dedicating the temple this is at the height of the Empire he's dedicating the temple that is unlike anything anyone has ever seen in the world it was said of Solomon's Temple that foreign dignitaries when they would come over the horizon and get their first glimpse of the temple would stop and dismount to stand and stare at the beauty and majesty and glory of Solomon's Temple and on the day it's dedicated Solomon says you know if these people who are strong right now are disobedient and if as a result of their disobedience you give them over to an enemy and they're carried away far or near yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity saying we have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart in the land of their captivity to which they are carried captive and pray toward their land which you gave to their fathers the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name then hear from heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their pleas and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you why is Daniel praying toward the City of Jerusalem because King Solomon at the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem said if this ever happens to us we must repent we must pray and we must pray toward this city to symbolize our dependence on God to symbolize our worship of Almighty God to symbolize the importance of his presence in this place listen to me Daniel has been in captivity for seventy years he is a man in his mid 80s and he still goes every day to pray facing the city that he has told to pray toward and pleading that God will forgive his people pleading that God will bring them back into the land Daniel does not go into his chamber and say oh my God how grateful I am that even though I'm a captive you have made me powerful how grateful I am that even though I've lost Jerusalem as my home this place is now my home how grateful I am that Nebuchadnezzar trusts me and I have much authority in this kingdom how grateful I am that I have all no that's not his prayer how do I know that's not his prayer because he's praying toward Jerusalem his prayer is I don't care how much Darius trusts me I don't care how much authority Darius gives me I want to go home how much more for those of us who to look for a city whose builder and maker is God there is a temple that makes Solomon's Temple pale in comparison it's the temple Jesus talked about when he said tear down this temple and in three days I'll build it up again in here's the beauty of it not only did we not have to long for a temple in a particular place but your body it's the temple of the Holy Spirit God dwells in you what a glorious truth Daniel's in captivity and he's looking toward a piece of land that his eyes can't even see anymore but he's never gonna get back to it all he has is yearning that will never be satisfied from a temporal perspective Christianity has no capital Christianity believes in no holy land let me say that again Christianity believes in no holy land Christianity believes in no holy land Israel may be the land of the Bible but it is not the Holy Land there's no such thing for a Christian there is no place that we look to and describe those kinds of qualities we don't need to go to a place to find where the Spirit of God dwells the Spirit of God dwells in us finally faithfulness that honors God often results in persecution but wait a minute I thought you said that blesses the kingdom of a man it does it blesses the kingdom of man but men hate God we see this in verses 4 through 9 11 through 13 and 15 look at verses 4 and 5 then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault because he was faithful and no error or fault was found in him then the men said we shall not find any ground for complaint against Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God just stop for a minute and think about how irrational this is we hate this man Darius has already made him one of the three leaders over the whole toking he's about to make him number one we got to get rid of him great find something that he has done against the kingdom that we love we can't so wait a minute he is a blessing to the kingdom that we love and we want to get rid of him that's completely and utterly irrational Darius says he's not one of us but he makes sure that I suffer no loss I trust him I don't care what skin color he is I don't care what language he speaks I don't care what kind of food he eats I don't care what God he prays to these men completely and utterly irrational I don't care how good he is to our people I want him gone men's hatred of God is not rational at all look at the atheists it's amazing how much hatred men can muster up pour to God and whom they do not believe there is no God and I hate him verses six through nine then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him Oh King Darius live forever all the high officials of the kingdom the prefetch and the satraps the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish and by the way they just lied the only way that could be true is if Daniel had agreed but he hadn't so not only are they are irrational but they're liars they're irrational and they're liars they're willing to do and say anything in order not here's their goal because they can't all be in the position that Daniel is in they don't care they just want to make sure he's done in that position because of who and what he represents folks you just need to know that this is what faithfulness from God and faithfulness to God produces in those who do not know and love God the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction that whoever makes petition to any god or man for 30 days except to you O king shall be cast into the den of lions now o King established the injunction and signs the document so that it can be set so that it cannot be changed according to the law of the Medes and the Persians which cannot be revoked therefore King Darius signed the document and the injunction listen three times in these 15 verses we read the law of the Medes and the Persians four times in these 15 verses we read either cannot be changed or cannot be revoked how do you get Daniel you get Daniel by pitting a lot of the Medes and the Persians against the law of God how do you get Darius you get Darius by pitting his wishes against the law of the Medes and the Persians you see the Babylonians had a supreme law but their supreme law was the king the Medes and the Persians have a supreme law their supreme law is the decree not even the king is more powerful than the decree verses 11 in the first part of 12 nimmi's men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God because they knew exactly where to find him then they came near and said before the King concerning the injunction watch this watch what they do o King did you not sign an injunction that anyone who makes petition to any God or man within 30 days except you O king shall be cast into the din of the Lions they don't come to him and say hey King guess what we saw they come to them and they first say King remember the law that you made that cannot be changed verse 13 then they answered and said before the King Daniel who's one of the exiles from Judah not Daniel who is one of the three leaders of the kingdom here's why they hate him Daniel who is one of the exiles from Judah pays no attention to you O king or the injunction you have signed but makes his petition three times a day this pattern is repeated earlier in Daniel chapter three in Daniel chapter 3 there is the statute and there is the call to bow down and worship the statue in Daniel chapter 3 it's Hananiah Mishael and Azariah and Daniel chapter 3 it's Nebuchadnezzar here it's Darius and Daniel chapter 3 it's fire here it's lions but it's the same pattern in Daniel chapter 3 it's will you worship a false God and Daniel chapter 6 it's will you not worship the true God but it's the same pattern and the question is the same in Daniel chapter 3 will you risk your life to be faithful to God in Daniel chapter 6 will you risk your life to be faithful to God a terrible question to ask the follower of God will you risk your life to be faithful to God newsflash faithfulness to God is my life I have no life apart from faithfulness to God because ultimately my faithfulness to God is only a reflection of God's faithfulness to me so what you're asking me essentially is this will you transfer your trust from God who is your life to me and the answer to that question is always no this is a pattern that we see in the Old Testament but not just in the Old Testament it's a pattern that we see in the New Testament and beyond listen to Jesus Matthew chapter 10 chapter 5 verses 10 through 12 blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of me rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you you see that also in John 15 the world hates you know that it has hated me before it hated you if you were of the world the world would love you as its own but because you are not of the world but I chose you out of the world therefore the world hates you remember the word that I said to you a servant is not greater than his master if they persecuted me they will also persecute you if they kept my word they will also keep yours but all these things they will do to you on account of my name because they do not know him who sent me that's the great irony in this whole concept of cultural transformation that ultimately what we desire is to make the world not the world ultimately we believe that a part from the second coming of Christ we can turn this world into a place that loves and celebrates us and worse than that until that happens we overworld nothing run from the world spit on the world flee from the world it's the opposite of what Jesus tells us be in the world but not of the world which is the formula for persecution by the world Paul 2nd Timothy chapter 3 verses 10 to 13 you however have followed my teaching my conduct my aim in life my faith my patience my love my steadfastness my persecution and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch at Iconium and Lystra what persecutions I endured yet from them all the Lord rescued me indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted while evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse deceiving and being deceived Peter in 1st Peter 2:4 this is a gracious thing when mindful of God one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly for what credit is it if when you sin and they're beaten for it you endure but if when you do good and suffer for it you endure this is a gracious thing in the sight of God for to this you have been called because Christ also suffered for you leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps he committed no sin neither was deceit found in his mouth when he was reviled he did not revile in return when he suffered he did not threaten but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly that's who we are I said beyond because this didn't just happened in the Old Testament didn't just happen in the New Testament it has happened continuously throughout the history of the church listen to this from Ignatius of Antioch Ignatius was martyred around AD 100 ironically by being thrown to the Lions when he found out that that was his sentence here's what he wrote to the brothers in Rome I am his wheat ground fine by the lion's teeth to be made purest bread for Christ better still you should incite the creature creatures to become acceptable for me let them not leave the smallest scrap of my flesh so that I need not be a burden to anyone after I fall asleep when there is no trace of my body left for the world to see then I shall truly be Jesus Christ's disciple this is not our home we're exiles here granted God has been gracious to us especially in this part of the world but all over this world today our brothers and sisters are persecuted are killed all over the world today they're our brothers and sisters of ours who are not able to worship in the open like we are able to worship in the open and unlike Daniel that we'll see on next week who saved from death in the lion's den Ignatius and others like him are not they died at the hand of those who hate our God and they do not die because the church doesn't work hard enough at making people like us they die because it's who we are in Christ listen to this from Sean Michael Lucas the power of God has not displayed ultimately in his ability to rescue and deliver rather the power of God has displayed in his ability to take evil and transform it for his good and for his own purpose and we believe this because our God is the one who raised that crucified Jesus from the dead transforming the unimaginable evil of the crucifixion into the inconceivable glory of the resurrection that's who we are that's what we learn from Daniel chapter 6 that's what we learn about being exiles and sometimes we don't learn this lesson well because of our history and our heritage as Americans and praise God for this this absolute blip on the historical screen where Christians have been in majorities and where Christians have seen their culture and ideals flourish but that's not rest of the world that's not the rest of the history of the church that's not reality and it's not what we ought to be used to we do not belong here this is not as good as it gets we are not seeing terrible things in our culture because we vote the wrong way we're seeing terrible things in our culture because men love darkness rather than light we are not seeing terrible things in our culture because the church does not be in the church the church is always the church and one of the problems is there's a lot out there that passes for the church that is not but think before you say stuff like that oh if the church was just what the church was supposed to be we wouldn't experience bad legal decisions or persecutions what Bible do you read what church history do you study that is absolutely ridiculous and there are many of us who hold out hope for America the city on the hill by the way that's what Jesus said about the church not America and we hold out our hope that if the church would just vote right breed right live right then we can usher in this wonderful Kingdom called America and be of the world and not in the world god help you if that's what you're holding on to that is not our lot we belong to the one whom this world crucified we belong to the one whom this world hates we belong to the one who exposes this world sin and as a direct result of it they want to kill not only him but all those who belong to him but we belong to the one who overcame the world and we belong to the one who says if we overcome they were is waiting for us a crown of life you can have the crowns of this world just give me Jesus you can have the kingdoms of this world give me the kingdom of God you can have communities that look all nice and pretty and are dressed up but you give me Christ in the midst of the worst circumstance because then I know that when my eyes are closed for the last time I have not had my best life now but my best life is yet to come see faithfulness that honors God it does bless the kingdom of man it does it really does and it is it's rooted in true religion but ultimately ultimately it's the very cause for which they persecute us because if they loved the one whose faithfulness produces our faithfulness then they would come to him in repentance and faith but they don't they don't love him and our desire should not be oh they don't love him so let's outnumber them and outvote them so that at least they have to live by our rules I just hire should be they don't love him oh that we might make him known to them oh that we might bring his truth to them oh that they might be confronted with the all and glory and majesty of Christ so that if not converted they might at least be honest about who it is that they're rejecting that's what we see in Daniel chapter six this is not all about getting out of the lion's den because most of us don't escape you

Channel: Descyple91

Views: 28,775

Rating: 4.9530792 out of 5

Keywords: Daniel 6:1-13, The Book of Daniel, Jesus Christ, God, Christianity, The Bible, Old Testament, Sermon, Preaching

Id: G4GGvih0Gn0

Length: 59min 31sec (3571 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 15 2020