(cartoon)  I saw this posted on Facebook and thought it fit to what we’ve been studying here in Daniel.  “Why are you stalling, Santa?  You gonna start the game or not?”

“venison” - the “v” goes on a double letter square so the word is worth 14 points - doubled because you go first - 28 points - plus its a 7 letter word which gives you a bonus of 50 points.  76 points.  First word.  Game over.

What are the consequences if I play the word?  What will the reindeer think… of me?

A while back we took our car into the shop to have some work done on it.  On the way to pick it up I was riding in the courtesy shuttle that the shop provides for its customers.  Ever ridden in one of those?  There was the driver and this other passenger and myself.

As we we’re driving I noticed that the radio was tuned to K-LUV - which isn’t always the case.  I thought - “That’s probably not an accident.”  I started thinking, “I wonder if this guy is Christian.  I wonder if he’s part of a church or where he is spiritually.”

When the other passenger asked the driver, “How’s it going?”  The driver starts sharing about his family situation - just spilling out some really tough stuff.  I’m listening to this and nodding and saying things like, “That’s really hard” and “Man that’s tough.”  And the whole time there’s this voice inside of me saying, “Ask him how he’s doing spiritually.”

And I’m thinking, “No, I don’t want to do that.”  That involves risk.  Stepping out of my comfort zone.  Have you ever been there?

Suddenly I’m having this argument with myself.  The driver’s listening to a Christian station.  He’s probably a brother in Jesus.  This may be the one opportunity that the other passenger hears anything about Jesus.  We’re gonna get in an accident and die and this passenger is gonna spend eternity in hell because you didn’t ask one simple question.  You’re a pastor, why are you freezing up on this?  The guilt thing is going on and I’m wrestling with this.

Then I began thinking about what we’ve been looking at here in Daniel - about courage.  That really put the pressure on.  So I asked, “In the midst of all of what you’re going through, how are you doing spiritually?”

Changed the whole focus of the conversation.  He still talked about the struggles.  But, the driver also shared how Jesus was taking him through it - working in his life - supplying everything he needed.  I don’t know about the other passenger.  But I got charged up.  Praise God.

There are times when we struggle to step forward in faith.  Times when the consequences - real or perceived - the consequences are very much on our minds.  Times when we need courage to do what is right - to live for God.

Here in Daniel we’ve been looking at what that kind of courage looks like.  Where it comes from.  How we have that kind of courage in our lives. 

This morning we are coming to Daniel 6.  Daniel and the lions’ den.  How many of you have heard this account before?  Pretty familiar.

God has us looking at this today for a reason.  Yes?  Let’s be careful that we don’t lose ourselves in familiarity and miss what God wants us to hear this morning.  We’re going to go through the passage - unpacking as we go along - getting it fresh in our minds.  Then we’ll come to application at the end.

Verses 1 to 9 introduce us to Medo-Persian Politics.

Daniel 1 - verse 1:  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. 

Which is what we see going on here in chapter 6.  Same Darius the Mede who’s in verse 1.

Looking at this next map - we can see just how extensive the Persian Empire was - from about 539 to 331 BC.  All the way from Bulgaria through India - including Egypt in the south and up into Armenia in the north.  Literally about the size of the US - maybe a tad bigger.  Imagine trying to govern all that without Facebook or Twitter - any of the communication - or technology - that we take for granted today?

Nebuchadnezzar ruled the Babylonian Empire with absolute despotic dictatorial authority - micro management.  The Persian Empire was four times the size of the Babylonian Empire and Cyrus ruled it differently.  What we’re being introduced to here are the layers of bureaucracy ruling over differing groups of people - the nations - that Cyrus and conquered and gathered into this empire.

Satraps were like governors of provinces within the empire.  They were responsible for maintaining order - security - and for collecting tribute.  Then - above the satraps were these three presidents - Daniel being one of the presidents - three presidents who oversaw the work of the satraps - making sure that the tribute reached the king’s treasury.

“So that the king might suffer no loss.”  Which was a real possibility.  There being all kinds of opportunities for the satraps - and every one else along the way - and even the presidents to skim their take off the tribute before it got to the king.

We’re together?  Let’s go and pick up some more information.  

Verse 3:  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.  Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

Let’s pause.  Notice two things.

First:  Daniel was engaged in the political system.

Daniel - at this point - is probably in his mid 80’s.  He’s lived in Babylon for about 66 years - since he was a young teenager.  Darius calls him out of retirement to serve in the government.  So, he hangs up his fishing pole - comes out of retirement to serve.  Daniel never resisted being involved in the politics of His day.  This may be a stretch to some.  But, its possible to be obedient to God and still be in politics. 

There’s no way to touch the world for Jesus if we’re not in contact with it.  God loves people.  If we’re going to love people as God loves people then we’ve got to allow God to push us out of our comfort zone and use us even when we may not want to go there.

Life doesn’t end at retirement.  Our usefulness to the kingdom of God doesn’t end when we start eating off the senior’s menu at Denny’s.  Nor does our usefulness begin if we survive puberty. 

Whatever our age - regardless of our physical or mental condition - whatever we may think of ourselves or what we may think our limitations are - if we’re here and breathing independently God has a reason for it.  When we’ve completed what God has for us to do He’ll take us home.

One of the huge values of the local church is that God puts us together  multi-ethnic - multi-generational - multi-economic - multi-messed up - as a family.  A family with the same Heavenly Father - with huge opportunity - being related in Christ so that we can learn how to rely on Him and hang in there with each other as He uses us in each other’s lives to grow us and transform us and push us and use us to engage the world.

The local church.  Not the para-church.  But uniquely the local church as a family helping each other to stay engaged.  Encouraging each other to live courageously following Jesus.

The younger generation needs the senior generation to live faithful examples for us to follow.  We need your wisdom.  We need your experiences.  We need you to stay engaged in the battle.  To set the kind of example for us that Daniel has set for all of us.

Second:  While Daniel was engaged in the political system he was not corrupted by it. 

Darius looked at Daniel and saw a man of “extraordinary spirit” - a spirit that no one else possessed.  A God given “extraordinary spirit.”  Darius is going to put Him in charge of the whole kingdom.

Daniel was honest and without fault.  Meaning that he wasn’t skimming off the top.  He’s not going to be bribed.  Today we call these people “whistle blowers.”  Right?

Meaning if Daniel can’t be corrupted then the other presidents and satraps and everyone else in the food chain with sticky fingers can’t skim their cut off the top of the tribute.  Daniel’s enemies saw that “extraordinary spirit” and hated Daniel - plotted against him.  But, no matter how hard or how deep they probed - Daniel’s enemies couldn’t get an accusation to stick.

That’s a powerful testimony to the character and integrity and faithfulness of Daniel.  There were boundaries - points beyond which Daniel would not go.  Period.  Boundaries of behavior and participation that were shaped by God.  In the midst of all that ungodliness the only accusations they could make stick were because of Daniel’s faith in God.

That’s a challenge for us.  Isn’t it?  Engaged.  But, not corrupted. 

Going on - verse 6:  Then these presidents and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever!  All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.  Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, 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 injunction.

Two last points about Medo-Persian politics.

First:  The law of the Medes and Persians meant that once a law was signed it...  it couldn’t be changed - may not be revoked.  Even the king couldn’t go against it.

Verses 10 to 18 bring us to Daniel’s Choice.

Verse 10:  When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open 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.  Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God.  Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king!  Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?”  The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.”  Then they answered and said before the king, “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.”

Daniel knew.  He knew about the plot propagated by his enemies.  He knew about the law the king signed.  He knew the irrevocable consequences.  Do what’s right before God and you’re kitty chow.

Bottom line:  Knowing all that Daniel knew Daniel still made the choice to keep doing what he had always done in the way he had always done it.  3 times each  day - up in his roof chamber - window open facing towards Jerusalem - prayer.

We  need to make sure we’re together on that.  Courage comes from consistency - being consistent in our commitment to God. 

Jesus taught about the need to build our lives on His word.  Remember this?  Build your house on the… rock.  Not sand.  So when the storms of life come - and they will - if our lives are built on the sure foundation of His word then our lives will stand up against the worst of life throws at us.  (Matthew 7:24-27)

Hear this.  The time to start building on the rock is not when the storm hits - getting nailed with rain and floods and then we start looking for a rock and building materials.

Paul taught Timothy:  “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”  (1 Timothy 4:7,8 NASB)

“Discipline” translates the Greek word “gumnazo” - from which we get our English word... “gymnasium.”  Meaning heart pumping - deep breathing - sweat producing - repetitive exercise.  Consistent commitment to prayer and worship and serving and fellowshipping and reading and marinating on God’s word - consistent commitment to God - period.

How people diet reflects our society.  Take a pill.  Have an operation.  Go on a crash diet.  Lose some weight and then a year or less later most people weigh more than they did before.  Why?

Because we want weight loss without the consistent commitment to the  hard work of life style change.  We may be committed for a while.  But, we want our cake and to eat it too.  Consistent commitment regardless of what it costs over the long haul - day in and day out - that consistent commitment isn’t on most people’s radar screens.

But let’s be real.  If we’re going to keep on eating the way we’ve been eating and living life as a couch potato - straining to lift the remote - and expecting to look all buff and studly - it ain’t gonna happen.

Our society wants wealth without work.  Endurance without effort.  Respect without responsibility.  Service without sacrifice.  Acclaim without accountability.

Christians want courage without being consistent in our commitment to God.  To show up when we want.  To read when we can fit it in.  To serve without sacrifice.  If we’re not building on the foundation now how can we possibility expect to stand courageously for Christ when the storms of life hit us later?

Daniel was consistent in his relationship with God.  That foundation built of consistency was what he stood on given the choice he was faced with. 

When the challenge came he’s got what he needs because he’s been prepared by God.  He’s been here before.  He’s seen God at work before.  He’s knows God.  And He’s God’s man and he knows it.

Verse 14:  Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel.  And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him.  Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”

The Pirate’s Code is more like what?  Guidelines actually.  Not so with Medes and Persians.  Darius tries all day to find a way to free Daniel.  The law cannot be revoked.

Verse 16:  Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions.  The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”  And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.  Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

What do you say to someone who’s about to be thrown into a lions’ den?  “Have a nice trip?”  “Send me a selfie.”  “I can’t save you.  But your God - whoever that God is - if He really is worth praying to - trusting with your life - perhaps your God can save you.” 

The sound of the stone coming to rest in place - woomph - that must have had a sobering finality to it.  There’s an official seal.  No one’s going to mess with it.   Just in case the king tried to rescue Daniel - the noble’s give their own signet of approval.

Point being that the irrevocable injunction is followed to the letter.  There are no tricks.  Daniel is in the lions’ den.  He is dead meat.  Only God can save him.  Daniel’s choice is to trust God.

That’s powerful and the point of all the repetition here.  Darius is limited in what he can do.  Even Daniel is limited in what he can do.  But God is not.

Verse 19:  Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions.  As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish.  The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever!  My God sent His angel and shut the lion’s mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before Him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.”

Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den.  So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.  And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, and their children, and their wives.  And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

How starving were the lions?  Really really starving.

 
Verse 25:  Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth:  “Peace be multiplied to you.  I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for He is the living God, enduring forever; His kingdom shall never be destroyed, and His dominion shall be to the end.  He delivers and rescues; He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, He who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”

So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Notice four ways God is glorified.

First:  Daniel is spared.  Verse 23 - “because he had trusted in his God” - The word for “trusted” has the idea of continually leaning on something for support.  Daniel consistently leaning on God for support - his sure foundation  the rock - to sustain him.

Consistency - every day - three times a day - prayer.  From that daily intimacy with God - reliance on God for over 80 plus years - comes courage - live or die - Daniel trusts God.

Point being:  Daniel’s trust points our attention to God - not Darius - not Daniel - but to the sovereign God who chooses to deliver Daniel.  To God be the glory.

Point being:  The sovereign God is in control over the affairs of mankind.  To God be the glory.

Third:  God’s awesomeness and sovereignty are proclaimed - proclaimed throughout the Medo-Persian Empire that ultimately stretched from Libya to China - Egypt to Russia - proclaimed on three continents - by Darius - the Mede - a pagan.

Have we heard this before?  Nebuchadnezzar made the same proclamation in chapter four.  Repetition is so we - what?  Don’t miss the point.  God is awesome.  God is sovereign.  God is in control.   Get the point?  To God be the glory.

Fourth:  The sovereign God once again blesses Daniel - Verse 28:  So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.  Again repetition - God blesses His people who trust Him.  For our glory.  Nope.  For God’s glory.  We’re not end users of God’s blessings.  Life is about… God.  To God be glory. 

Processing all that for us and our need for God given courage - out there.  Three questions.

Question One:  What are the lions in your life? 

Maybe we can’t see the lions.  But, we can hear them growling.  Consequences - real or perceived.  What will happen if we choose to go there.  The choice to trust God.  Maybe with the deeper issues of our hearts?  Maybe with issues in our families - or school - or work?

Where is God calling you to trust Him?  To stand up for Him?  To rely on Him?

Question Two:  Why should you trust God?

It almost seems like - this is church so we shouldn’t be able to ask if God is really worthy of our trust.  But let’s be honest.  We do wonder.  We do hesitate.  Especially when we hear lions growling.

Chapters one to six of Daniel are the historical section of the book - all about Daniel and his friends - exiles living courageously for God in an ungodly society.  There is such encouragement for us in these chapters.

Hang on to something.

In chapter one we were reminded that we’re God’s people. 

While we were once under the authority and power of Satan and the powers of darkness - God so loves us - so values and cherishes us - that He gave Himself to die for us.  Our lives have been purchased from Satan’s power through the broken body and shed blood of Jesus the Christ.

The Holy Spirit - God - has come to dwell within us.  We are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  He’s sealed us - set us apart - given us the promise of heaven - life with God which begins now and extends into eternity.  We are the sons and daughters of the Almighty God of creation - created in God’s image - citizens of His Kingdom - heirs of the riches of heaven.

We can trust God because being God’s people has nothing to do with us and everything to do with God choosing to make us to be His people.

In chapter two we glimpsed God’s sovereignty.

Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the statue representing all the kingdoms of the world - the times - the epochs - the seemingly uncertain movements of history - all laid out before Nebuchadnezzar.   And in the end the stone that comes blows it all away like chaff.

The stone is Jesus.  He will crush the kingdoms of this world and the foolish rebellion of humankind.  God will set up His eternal kingdom.

We can trust God because God alone is sovereign over the wavering affairs of human history. 

In chapter three we were given a choice. 

The really really hot fiery furnace - and God does not leave them alone.  Satan uses things in our society to try and confuse and delude us - to intimidate us and drive us towards fear - to thinking that we’re alone and we can only trust ourselves.

But we can trust God because God will never leave us hanging.

 In chapter four we saw Nebuchadnezzar get pasteurized.

Nebuchadnezzar becoming a beast for 7 years.  The question:  What does God need to do to knock us off our little pedestals of self?  Without God we’ve got nothing.

We can trust God because our very lives - every breath - every heart beat -  are gift of God.

Then chapter five.  The handwriting on the wall.

God appealing to us - telling us where our actions - our posing - our pride - will take us.

We can trust God because God alone is able to meet the deepest needs of our hearts.

There’s a repeated message here that all comes together here in chapter six.  The reality that Daniel - this retired 80 plus year old man - practiced consistently in his life.  God alone is worthy of our trust.  So let go of anything that keeps you back from consistently going to God with your life.  Courage - and opportunity - and blessing - come as we totally rely on Him. 

Question Three:  How is your consistency? 

Ultimately - what we’re processing here isn’t about guilt or failure.  Pointing out where we’ve slacked off or been inconsistent.  What we’re seeing here is about great opportunity - to gain stability in our lives - courage for the hard times - to have what it takes to stand for God.    

What will you do this week to be more consistently committed to God - to building on the foundation of your relationship with the God who is worthy of your trust?

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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®  (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.