May 19, 2025 • 29 mins
As we conclude our Courage in the Fire series, Pastor Zach shares from Daniel 6, where Daniel’s unwavering commitment to regular prayer and obedience to God—even when it became illegal—reveals his deep dependence on God in everyday life. His consistent faithfulness becomes a powerful witness, leading even a pagan king to recognize and proclaim the greatness of Daniel’s God. This sermon reminds us that it’s not always epic acts of courage, but daily, faithful obedience that God uses to fulfill his purposes and reveal his salvation.
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(00:00):
This is a reading from Daniel chapter six.
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom
120 cropsto be throughout the whole kingdom.
And over them three high officials of whomDaniel was one
to whom these sage hatsshould give account.
So that the king might suffer no loss.
Then the snow became distinguishedabove all the other high officials. And.
(00:25):
Because an excellent spirit was in him,
and the king planned to set himover the whole kingdom.
Then the high officials in the satrapssought to find a crown
for complaint against Danielwith regard to the kingdom.
But they could find no groundfor complaint at 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
(00:48):
against this Daniel, unless we find itin connection with the law of his God.
Then these high officials and satrapscame by agreement to the king
and said to him, O King Darius,live forever.
All the high officials of the kingdom,the prefects and the satraps,
the councilorsand the governors agreed that the King
(01:10):
should establishan ordinance and enforce an injunction
that whoever makes a petition to any Godor man for 30 days, except to you,
O King,shall be cast into the den of lions.
Now, O King, establish the injunctionand sign the document
so that it cannot be changed
according to the law of the Medesand the Persians, which cannot be revoked.
(01:32):
Therefore, KingDarius signed the document and injunction.
When Daniel knew that the documenthad been signed, he went to his house,
where he had windows and his upper chamberopen towards Jerusalem.
He got down on his kneesthree times a day, and prayed and gave
thanks before his God, as he had donepreviously.
(01:52):
Then these men came by agreementand found Daniel making petition
and plead before his God.
Then they came here and saidbefore the king concerning the injunction,
O King, did you not sign an injunction
that anyonewho makes a petition to any God or man
within 30 days, except to you, OKing, shall be cast into the den of lions.
(02:13):
The kinganswered and said, the thing stands fast
according to the law of the meansin the Persians, which cannot be revoked.
Then they answered and saidbefore the king Daniel,
who is one of the exiles from Judah, paysno attention to you, O King,
or the injunction you have signed,but makes this petition three times a day.
(02:34):
Then the king, when he heard these wordswith much distress, and set his mind
to deliver Daniel, and he laboredtill the sun went down to rescue him.
Then these men came by agreementto the king, and said to the king,
know, O king,that it is a law of the means.
And Persians, that
no injunction or ordinancethat the king establishes can be changed.
(02:57):
Then the king
commanded, and Daniel was brought in, castinto the den of lions.
The king declared to Daniel, May your Godwhom you serve continually deliver you.
And a stone was brought and laidon the mouth of the dun, and the king
sealed it with his own signet,and with the signet of his courts.
That nothing might be changedconcerning Daniel.
(03:17):
Then the king went to his palaceand spent the night fasting.
No diversions were brought to him,and sleep fled from him.
Then at break of day
the king aroseand went in haste to the den of lions.
As he came near to the denwhere Daniel was,
he cried out in a tone of anguish.
The king declared to Daniel, O Daniel,servant of the living God,
(03:41):
has your God whom you serve continuallybeen able to deliver you from the lions.
Then Daniel said to the king,O king, live forever.
My God sent his angeland shut the lion's mouth.
And they have not harm 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,
(04:04):
and commandedthat 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 accusedDaniel were brought
and cast into the den of lions.
They, their children, and their wives.
(04:24):
And before they reachedthe bottom of the den,
the lions overpowered themand broke all their bones in pieces.
Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples,
nations, and languagesthat dwell in all the earth.
Peace be multiplied to you.
I make a decreethat in all my royal dominion
people are to tremble and fearbefore the God of Daniel.
(04:46):
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 heavenand on earth.
He who has saved Danielfrom the power of the lions.
So this Daniel prospered during the reignof Darius and the reign of Cyrus
the Persian.
(05:09):
So I was playing golf with this guyone time.
Just nine holes.Getting to know each other.
Didn't didn't know him very well.
And in the first 3 or 4 holes realized
that his life was a complete mess.
Now that that's not my judgment.
He had spent 3 or 4 holestelling me his life was a complete mess.
(05:31):
He told me he ate too much.
He drank too much.
He swore too much.
Basically, whatever you can think of,he did that too much.
That was our conversationfor the first couple of holes,
and I appreciated his vulnerabilityand honesty.
But then we got, like the fifthor sixth hole, and he said something
(05:51):
that kind of stuck out to me.
He said, you know,I keep waiting for a moment
where God asks me to dosomething really big for him.
I want a moment where I do
something really big for God.
And I remember being struckin that moment, in that conversation
by the disconnectbetween those two things.
(06:15):
Struck by it.
Because I don't think that disconnectlives only in that particular guy.
I think it lives in my heartand it lives in yours.
I think it's the unintentional consequenceof reading stories in the Bible
that are so big, so epic,
so massive,that that's kind of what we crave,
(06:37):
wanting to be a partof one of those significant moments.
It's also, I think, what we thinkGod is interested in.
So that to be really close to Godor to be to experience
the movement of God has to be big.It has to be epic.
We we have to build an ark,or go toe to toe with Pharaoh
or be thrown into a den of lions.
(06:59):
Of course,there are two problems with that.
One is, for most of us,those opportunities
are not going to present themselves.
We're ordinary people.
We live ordinary lives.
We're going to find ourselvesin those massive story.
And then if that's true.
The second problem is that might mean thatwe think that God isn't as interested
(07:21):
in our livesor in our stories, that he isn't at work
in our ordinary day to day experienceis something I've been worried about,
as we spent four weekslooking at some stories
in the book of Daniel,talking about courage
in the fire that your takeawayfrom this series might be.
Well, if a big moment presents itself,then I need to be ready to step up.
(07:44):
But if no such moment presents itself,
then this really doesn't applyto a regular person like me.
It's why I'm so excitedthat this last week to conclude
a week of our courage in the fireseries is not really about epic moments.
It's about something far more routine
(08:05):
and something far more, I think, familiar.
To show you that
if you have a Bible, would you take it outand open it to Daniel chapter six?
It's perfectly okay
to take out your phone or your tablethowever you want to get there.
And hey, if you're hereand you didn't bring a Bible,
maybe you're not super familiar withfinding your way around the Bible first.
(08:26):
I'm so glad that you're here.
And second,I want you to know that everything
I have to say this weekend isas much for you as it is for anyone.
You're an absolutely the right place.
You don't have to hold a Bibleas part of the service,
but if you want to, there's oneavailable to you
in the pew, in front of you,or in the back of East Hall.
It's the same one I use.
So I can tell you that Daniel six is onpage 696 if you want to follow along.
(08:50):
Thanks for being here.
But however you're going to get toDaniel six, I have a little bit
differentkind of an outline for you this weekend.
I want to introduce you to a formulathat will make up my three points.
And the formula goesa little bit like this.
R0 plus I rl equals
(09:10):
gg r0 plus I rl equals gg.
Now you don't know what that means.Hopefully you will.
By the time I'm done.
But those three parts are my outline R0
stands for regular obedience I rl.
In case you don't know, a middleschooler stands for in real life
and GG stands for God's plan of salvation.
(09:33):
So what I want to teach youis that regular obedience in real life
is God's plan for salvation.
Let me show you that from Danielchapter six.
Let's start with the first oneregular obedience R0.
Where do we see that in Daniel six?
Well, the first thing I want you to knowis that this is actually
(09:53):
not a story of epic courage or epic faith.
I don't mean it doesn't involve that.
I just mean, that's not it's Genesis.
This is a story about office politics that
that get intense and about how it impactsa man named Daniel.
But what I want you to seeis that Daniel's
(10:14):
entry point into the story is not epic.
It's a regular look with me at versefive at the plot against Daniel,
and then verse ten,kind of the main moment of action.
Verse five says this.
Then these men said, we shall not findany ground for complaint against this.
Daniel, unless we find it in connectionwith the law of his God.
(10:39):
In verse ten, when Daniel knewthe document had been signed,
he went to his house where he had windowsin his upper chamber open
toward Jerusalem.
He got down on his knees three times a day
and prayed and gave thanks before his God.
And here's the crucial phrase,as he had done previously.
(11:00):
So there are a group of guyswho want to get Daniel fired.
And in this culture,if you work up enough on the ladder,
getting fired means also being murdered.
So they want to get him firedand get him dead
and they can't find any dirt on him.
So what they decide to dois to criminalize his faith,
to make it illegalto pray to anyone other than the King.
(11:23):
And they know Daniel will do this becauseDaniel was a man of regular prayer.
Now, what's important is he was a manof regular prayer before the lion's den.
He was a man of regular prayerbefore the office.
Politics, before the plotting.
He was just a man of prayer.
Three times a day,the Bible says he prayed.
(11:46):
I'm gonna assume that probably meansmorning, afternoon and evening.
Or, as I think about them, breakfast,lunch and dinner.
Daniel is a regular man of prayer.
When he prays, the Bible says he givesthanks to God for what he has
and he points towards Jerusalem.
Now, that's interesting to me,because the thing about prayer is
(12:08):
that prayer is fundamentallyan act of dependance upon God.
Prayer is, at its core, an admission
that we are up against circumstancesthat are too big for us, and we need help.
Prayer is going to Godand asking him to do for us,
or in us or through uswhat we cannot not do on our own.
(12:33):
It's interesting to me that in this story,the writer could have built the plot
around Daniel's generosityor his integrity, his morality.
But he doesn't.
He builds it around his prayer,his dependance upon God, his realization
that he lives in Babylon and the Babylon,hates his people, hates his God,
(12:55):
that the pull of Babylonian cultureis away from God.
And so three times a dayhe incurs himself in dependance upon God.
Now why is that crucial?
Well, because dependance upon God
is exactly what you needwhen you go in the lion's den.
(13:15):
When they throw you in the lion's den,you are saying on the way
to and on the wayin, God, please help me there.
There are lions that want to eat me.
I don't know what to do about that.
There's nothing I can do about that.
I need your help.
So the prayer for Daniel is prayingand the lion's den is the same one.
(13:37):
He's praying in his own denthree times a day.
Morning, afternoon, and evening.
You see, Daniel was cultivating a regularpattern, a regular habit of dependance.
This story is not about a guywaking up one morning
and saying, I'm going to do somethinggreat for God today.
(14:00):
This story is about a manwho's just taking
the next step of dependance.
And I say thatbecause this story is telling us, friends,
that God isn't just presentin the big epic moments.
He isn't just presentin the crucial moments.
He's present in the day to day.
(14:20):
He's interested in the day to dayand that who you are in the epic
moments is fundamentally who you arein the day to day.
Daniel cultivates dependanceso that when it comes
time for the lion's den,that's already who he is.
When I was in seminary before a test,we would pray because,
(14:43):
you know, it's seminaryand the professors would always pray.
This wonderful or obnoxious prayer,depending on
your perspective, they would say, God,please help these students.
Help themto remember everything they studied,
which if you studied, was a great prayer.
And if you didn't,speaking for my friends,
(15:05):
you felt a little judged in that moment.
You know, you're like God
and maybe even help out us sinnerswho forgot to study, right?
But what the point the professorswere making is one you already know.
Exams are the culminationof what you've learned over the semester.
Performance reviews at work
are the culmination of the workyou've put in that quarter.
(15:29):
Friends, listen.
God is interested in who you are today.
Regular obedience matters to God
and who you will bein those crucial moments.
Who you will be in those epicmoments is who
you are busy becoming
(15:51):
in the next few minutes.
Daniel's story is a story of regularobedience.
The circumstances around Daniel change,
but he just keeps doing what he's doing.
This story is a story that reminds youyour integrity matters.
(16:12):
Your moral choices matter.
Your willingness to forgive matters.
Your willingness to admityou were wrong matters.
Your cultivation of dependance matters,and you never really know
when it really matters.
Which is why regular obedienceis so important.
(16:34):
But the truth is, if we're honest,
epic obedience in some waysfeels easier, doesn't it?
Because you can see the moment comingand you know, I gotta show up.
It's the daily stuff that's hard.
Have you ever thought about why that is?
Well, I think it's for the same reason.
It's been hard for me to teach my kidswhen they're little to brush their teeth.
(16:59):
Kids do not understand the importance ofbrushing their teeth when they're little.
And they come down the stairsin the morning and you say,
did you brush your teeth?
They look at you like you're stupid. No.
Or they come down and go, yeah.
And you say, show me.
And they smile and traffic slows downoutside because the teeth are so yellow.
And you go, well,if you did, you didn't do very good.
(17:19):
Go back up.
And every timeyou seem to get back up there like.
Who cares?
But the thing is,the difference between me
and them isI understand why you brush your teeth.
Like one day they're going to want someoneto find them attractive,
and that person might until they smile
one day, they're going to want to dowell in a job interview.
(17:42):
They're going to want people
to feel like it's okay to stand withintwo feet of them and all of those things
require them learning the disciplineof brushing your teeth.
You see, the problem between my kids
and I is that I know why we're doing it,and they don't.
Friendslisten, your regular obedience matters.
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It's another thing that Daniel sixteaches us it isn't being wasted.
And that's actually my second point.
Not just regular obedience.
Oh, but in real life.
In real. Life.
I want you to see that Daniel'sregular obedience
is not in a vacuum,and it's not in private.
Daniel is a man who lives his faith,who lives his obedience,
(18:26):
who lives his integrity out in public.
That's why they knowif they criminalize prayer, he will do it.
And the first thing I want you to see is,if you decide to pursue
regular obediencein real life, you will face opposition.
Daniel did, and you will too.
(18:46):
That's because the culture at large is notmoving towards God, but away from him.
If you practice obediencein your sexuality,
they will call you repressed.
If you practice obedienceand your integrity,
they will tell you to lighten up.
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If you practice obedience
in your money,they'll tell you you're too generous.
You should be wiser.
It won't make sense to them.
Oppositionwill come to you in your workplace.
It'll come to you in your family.
It'll come to you in your social group.
But here's the crucial point of Daniel six
God wants to use that opposition
(19:30):
to create opportunity for observation.
God wants to use the opposition
to your regular obedienceto create opportunity for observation.
And look with me at verse16. Here's what it says.
Then the king commanded,
and Daniel was brought in, castinto the den of lions.
(19:51):
The king declared to Daniel, May your God
whom you serve continually deliver you.
And a stone was broughtand laid on the mouth of the den.
And the king sealed it with his ownsignet, and with the signet of his lords,
that nothing might be changedconcerning Daniel.
And then the king went into his palaceand spent the night fasting.
(20:12):
No diversions were brought to him,and sleep fled from him.
Then at the break of day the king aroseand went in haste to the den of lions.
And as he came near to the denwhere Daniel was,
he cried out in a tone of anguish,and the king declared to Daniel,
oh, Daniel, servant of the livingGod has your God
whom you serve continually been ableto deliver you from the lion's friends.
(20:37):
Do you see when you obey
God in the midst of a culturethat is moving in the opposite direction,
you will have haters,you will have enemies.
You will have people who lieabout you, gossip about you, attack you,
who get in your way.
You will also have. Darius's.
(20:58):
Men and women who are.
Curious.
Men, and women who are drawn to you,
who are wonderingwhy do you live the way you live?
Why do you do the things that you do?
Men and women whose curiositywill lead them to the brink,
and they will peer downinto the den of your obedience
and they will wonder out loud,will your God come through?
(21:23):
That's what Darius does.
He sends Daniel to the lionsand he says, May the God that you serve
come through for you.
He can't sleep. He can't.
He can't entertain himself.
And then the minute the sun comes up,he rushes to the den
and he's asking a question.Not for Daniel.
He's asking a question for himself.
Has your God proven true?
(21:45):
Friends?
What if.
What if the tool that God wants to use
to bring your husband to faith.
Your sister?
Your brother?
Your wife?
Your roommate?
Your friend
is your regular obedience.
(22:06):
The contrasting narrative
of the way you live,the contrasting integrity
of the way you moveeven though it threatens you,
even though it leads to opposition,even though it lands you in the den.
What if that is the momentin which that person you care
so deeply about stares into your life
(22:28):
and says, is your God real?
God does not waste your obedience.
He does not waste the opposition.
It creates opportunity for observation
as to his reality.
(22:48):
Brushing your teeth spiritually matters.
Your integrity
matters.
It creates opportunityfor observation, but.
Not only that, let me show youmy third point.
It's not just that regular obediencein real life,
but it's also that's the plan of God.
(23:10):
God's plan for salvaje.
Look how Daniel answersDarius in verse 21.
Then Daniel said to the king,O King, live forever.
My God sent his angeland 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.
(23:33):
And 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.
Skip down to verse 25.
Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples,nations, and languages
that dwell in all the earth, peacebe multiplied to you.
(23:55):
I make a decreethat in all my royal dominion people
are to tremble and fearbefore the God of Daniel.
For he is the living God enduring forever.
His kingdom shall never be destroyed.
His dominion shall be to the end.
He delivers and he rescues.
He works signs and wonders in heavenand on earth, for
he has saved Danielfrom the power of the lion's friends.
(24:18):
This story begins with regular prayer.
It ends with theking writing a worship song.
Regular obedience in real life
is how God leads people to himself.
Friends, to get this story, forget Darius,who cares about him.
You don't know him, and neither do I.
(24:39):
I want you to imagine what it would belike for your husband to be next
to your wife, next to your brother,in front of you, in the pew, hands raised,
singing the songs we sing, saying,I know that God is good.
I've seen his goodness.
And I met him
through the daily obedience of you.
(25:03):
That is God's plan.
That's always been God's plan.
Build the boat.
Go toe to toe with Pharaoh.
Keep the Sabbath,eat the bread from heaven.
Get water from a rock. Obey me.
God says sothat they will know I'm real friends.
If you're here this weekendand you're not yet a Christian, my desire
(25:25):
is for you to see that all of Danielsix is God's pursuit of Darius.
His heart.
The God of
the Bible, is a God who's for you, who.
Loves you, who wants to forgive you.
Even the differences, the contrast,the weirdness of the Christian
who invited you this weekend.
(25:48):
Is God's attempt to get your attention.
Be curious.
Ask questions.
Wonder whether or not this God is real?
Watch him show up.
A brother or sister in Christ.
I know you might think, well,good for Daniel.
God use Daniel's obedienceto get the king's attention.
(26:09):
That's Daniel, that's that's not me.
But friends, listen to me.
This is what God has always done.
You are a Christian today,whether you realize it or not.
Because of the regular obedience of Jesus.
Jesus who goes to the crossto carry his sin, not mine.
(26:29):
And you know why?
He can carry his sin and not mine?
Because daily
he said no to selfishness.
Daily he said no to laziness
daily he said no to hatred.
Jesus, who is faithful minuteby minute, day by day, month
by month, year by year, decade by decade.
(26:50):
It's his regular obedience that makeshis epic obedience on the cross.
Good news for me,
so that when he comes up under the angerand wrath
and judgment of God, it's for my sin,not his, because he didn't have any.
So that when he dies and then raisesthree days later, it's my victory
as well as his because he, throughhis regular obedience, could carry my sin.
(27:16):
Friends, this is the very mechanism
that God used to win you to himself.
It's the very thing he wants to do inand through
you to change the world around you.
Stop ringing your handsabout the state of our country,
and start getting seriousabout the state of your own obedience.
(27:39):
Take your eyes off of the horizon
and what might be coming in the future,and put them a step in front of you.
What's the next step of integrity?
What's the next step of forgiveness?
What's the next step of apologizing?
Of reconciling?
What does God want to do today
to reach the Darius's around me?
(28:01):
Brothersand sisters, real obedience in real
life is God's planto point people to Jesus.
It will not be wasted.
I know many of you have the couragefor the epic moments,
but what God is calling us tois a daily courage, a minute by minute.
(28:23):
Courage to be obedient,
to be dependent on him.
Let me pray for us. Father God.
Thank you for Danielsix and how ordinary it is.
Most of us feel ordinary.
Thank you that you have been
using the obedience that changed lives,
(28:44):
the testimony of ordinary peoplefor 2000 years
to change the world.
Use it to change our families,
our communities, our culture,
one step at a time.
Jesus name we pray. Amen.
This is a reading from Daniel chapter six.
It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom
120 cropsto be throughout the whole kingdom.
And over them three high officials of whomDaniel was one
to whom these sage hatsshould give account.
So that the king might suffer no loss.
Then the snow became distinguishedabove all the other high officials. And.
(00:25):
Because an excellent spirit was in him,
and the king planned to set himover the whole kingdom.
Then the high officials in the satrapssought to find a crown
for complaint against Danielwith regard to the kingdom.
But they could find no groundfor complaint at 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
(00:48):
against this Daniel, unless we find itin connection with the law of his God.
Then these high officials and satrapscame by agreement to the king
and said to him, O King Darius,live forever.
All the high officials of the kingdom,the prefects and the satraps,
the councilorsand the governors agreed that the King
(01:10):
should establishan ordinance and enforce an injunction
that whoever makes a petition to any Godor man for 30 days, except to you,
O King,shall be cast into the den of lions.
Now, O King, establish the injunctionand sign the document
so that it cannot be changed
according to the law of the Medesand the Persians, which cannot be revoked.
(01:32):
Therefore, KingDarius signed the document and injunction.
When Daniel knew that the documenthad been signed, he went to his house,
where he had windows and his upper chamberopen towards Jerusalem.
He got down on his kneesthree times a day, and prayed and gave
thanks before his God, as he had donepreviously.
(01:52):
Then these men came by agreementand found Daniel making petition
and plead before his God.
Then they came here and saidbefore the king concerning the injunction,
O King, did you not sign an injunction
that anyonewho makes a petition to any God or man
within 30 days, except to you, OKing, shall be cast into the den of lions.
(02:13):
The kinganswered and said, the thing stands fast
according to the law of the meansin the Persians, which cannot be revoked.
Then they answered and saidbefore the king Daniel,
who is one of the exiles from Judah, paysno attention to you, O King,
or the injunction you have signed,but makes this petition three times a day.
(02:34):
Then the king, when he heard these wordswith much distress, and set his mind
to deliver Daniel, and he laboredtill the sun went down to rescue him.
Then these men came by agreementto the king, and said to the king,
know, O king,that it is a law of the means.
And Persians, that
no injunction or ordinancethat the king establishes can be changed.
(02:57):
Then the king
commanded, and Daniel was brought in, castinto the den of lions.
The king declared to Daniel, May your Godwhom you serve continually deliver you.
And a stone was brought and laidon the mouth of the dun, and the king
sealed it with his own signet,and with the signet of his courts.
That nothing might be changedconcerning Daniel.
(03:17):
Then the king went to his palaceand spent the night fasting.
No diversions were brought to him,and sleep fled from him.
Then at break of day
the king aroseand went in haste to the den of lions.
As he came near to the denwhere Daniel was,
he cried out in a tone of anguish.
The king declared to Daniel, O Daniel,servant of the living God,
(03:41):
has your God whom you serve continuallybeen able to deliver you from the lions.
Then Daniel said to the king,O king, live forever.
My God sent his angeland shut the lion's mouth.
And they have not harm 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,
(04:04):
and commandedthat 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 accusedDaniel were brought
and cast into the den of lions.
They, their children, and their wives.
(04:24):
And before they reachedthe bottom of the den,
the lions overpowered themand broke all their bones in pieces.
Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples,
nations, and languagesthat dwell in all the earth.
Peace be multiplied to you.
I make a decreethat in all my royal dominion
people are to tremble and fearbefore the God of Daniel.
(04:46):
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 heavenand on earth.
He who has saved Danielfrom the power of the lions.
So this Daniel prospered during the reignof Darius and the reign of Cyrus
the Persian.
(05:09):
So I was playing golf with this guyone time.
Just nine holes.Getting to know each other.
Didn't didn't know him very well.
And in the first 3 or 4 holes realized
that his life was a complete mess.
Now that that's not my judgment.
He had spent 3 or 4 holestelling me his life was a complete mess.
(05:31):
He told me he ate too much.
He drank too much.
He swore too much.
Basically, whatever you can think of,he did that too much.
That was our conversationfor the first couple of holes,
and I appreciated his vulnerabilityand honesty.
But then we got, like the fifthor sixth hole, and he said something
(05:51):
that kind of stuck out to me.
He said, you know,I keep waiting for a moment
where God asks me to dosomething really big for him.
I want a moment where I do
something really big for God.
And I remember being struckin that moment, in that conversation
by the disconnectbetween those two things.
(06:15):
Struck by it.
Because I don't think that disconnectlives only in that particular guy.
I think it lives in my heartand it lives in yours.
I think it's the unintentional consequenceof reading stories in the Bible
that are so big, so epic,
so massive,that that's kind of what we crave,
(06:37):
wanting to be a partof one of those significant moments.
It's also, I think, what we thinkGod is interested in.
So that to be really close to Godor to be to experience
the movement of God has to be big.It has to be epic.
We we have to build an ark,or go toe to toe with Pharaoh
or be thrown into a den of lions.
(06:59):
Of course,there are two problems with that.
One is, for most of us,those opportunities
are not going to present themselves.
We're ordinary people.
We live ordinary lives.
We're going to find ourselvesin those massive story.
And then if that's true.
The second problem is that might mean thatwe think that God isn't as interested
(07:21):
in our livesor in our stories, that he isn't at work
in our ordinary day to day experienceis something I've been worried about,
as we spent four weekslooking at some stories
in the book of Daniel,talking about courage
in the fire that your takeawayfrom this series might be.
Well, if a big moment presents itself,then I need to be ready to step up.
(07:44):
But if no such moment presents itself,
then this really doesn't applyto a regular person like me.
It's why I'm so excitedthat this last week to conclude
a week of our courage in the fireseries is not really about epic moments.
It's about something far more routine
(08:05):
and something far more, I think, familiar.
To show you that
if you have a Bible, would you take it outand open it to Daniel chapter six?
It's perfectly okay
to take out your phone or your tablethowever you want to get there.
And hey, if you're hereand you didn't bring a Bible,
maybe you're not super familiar withfinding your way around the Bible first.
(08:26):
I'm so glad that you're here.
And second,I want you to know that everything
I have to say this weekend isas much for you as it is for anyone.
You're an absolutely the right place.
You don't have to hold a Bibleas part of the service,
but if you want to, there's oneavailable to you
in the pew, in front of you,or in the back of East Hall.
It's the same one I use.
So I can tell you that Daniel six is onpage 696 if you want to follow along.
(08:50):
Thanks for being here.
But however you're going to get toDaniel six, I have a little bit
differentkind of an outline for you this weekend.
I want to introduce you to a formulathat will make up my three points.
And the formula goesa little bit like this.
R0 plus I rl equals
(09:10):
gg r0 plus I rl equals gg.
Now you don't know what that means.Hopefully you will.
By the time I'm done.
But those three parts are my outline R0
stands for regular obedience I rl.
In case you don't know, a middleschooler stands for in real life
and GG stands for God's plan of salvation.
(09:33):
So what I want to teach youis that regular obedience in real life
is God's plan for salvation.
Let me show you that from Danielchapter six.
Let's start with the first oneregular obedience R0.
Where do we see that in Daniel six?
Well, the first thing I want you to knowis that this is actually
(09:53):
not a story of epic courage or epic faith.
I don't mean it doesn't involve that.
I just mean, that's not it's Genesis.
This is a story about office politics that
that get intense and about how it impactsa man named Daniel.
But what I want you to seeis that Daniel's
(10:14):
entry point into the story is not epic.
It's a regular look with me at versefive at the plot against Daniel,
and then verse ten,kind of the main moment of action.
Verse five says this.
Then these men said, we shall not findany ground for complaint against this.
Daniel, unless we find it in connectionwith the law of his God.
(10:39):
In verse ten, when Daniel knewthe document had been signed,
he went to his house where he had windowsin his upper chamber open
toward Jerusalem.
He got down on his knees three times a day
and prayed and gave thanks before his God.
And here's the crucial phrase,as he had done previously.
(11:00):
So there are a group of guyswho want to get Daniel fired.
And in this culture,if you work up enough on the ladder,
getting fired means also being murdered.
So they want to get him firedand get him dead
and they can't find any dirt on him.
So what they decide to dois to criminalize his faith,
to make it illegalto pray to anyone other than the King.
(11:23):
And they know Daniel will do this becauseDaniel was a man of regular prayer.
Now, what's important is he was a manof regular prayer before the lion's den.
He was a man of regular prayerbefore the office.
Politics, before the plotting.
He was just a man of prayer.
Three times a day,the Bible says he prayed.
(11:46):
I'm gonna assume that probably meansmorning, afternoon and evening.
Or, as I think about them, breakfast,lunch and dinner.
Daniel is a regular man of prayer.
When he prays, the Bible says he givesthanks to God for what he has
and he points towards Jerusalem.
Now, that's interesting to me,because the thing about prayer is
(12:08):
that prayer is fundamentallyan act of dependance upon God.
Prayer is, at its core, an admission
that we are up against circumstancesthat are too big for us, and we need help.
Prayer is going to Godand asking him to do for us,
or in us or through uswhat we cannot not do on our own.
(12:33):
It's interesting to me that in this story,the writer could have built the plot
around Daniel's generosityor his integrity, his morality.
But he doesn't.
He builds it around his prayer,his dependance upon God, his realization
that he lives in Babylon and the Babylon,hates his people, hates his God,
(12:55):
that the pull of Babylonian cultureis away from God.
And so three times a dayhe incurs himself in dependance upon God.
Now why is that crucial?
Well, because dependance upon God
is exactly what you needwhen you go in the lion's den.
(13:15):
When they throw you in the lion's den,you are saying on the way
to and on the wayin, God, please help me there.
There are lions that want to eat me.
I don't know what to do about that.
There's nothing I can do about that.
I need your help.
So the prayer for Daniel is prayingand the lion's den is the same one.
(13:37):
He's praying in his own denthree times a day.
Morning, afternoon, and evening.
You see, Daniel was cultivating a regularpattern, a regular habit of dependance.
This story is not about a guywaking up one morning
and saying, I'm going to do somethinggreat for God today.
(14:00):
This story is about a manwho's just taking
the next step of dependance.
And I say thatbecause this story is telling us, friends,
that God isn't just presentin the big epic moments.
He isn't just presentin the crucial moments.
He's present in the day to day.
(14:20):
He's interested in the day to dayand that who you are in the epic
moments is fundamentally who you arein the day to day.
Daniel cultivates dependanceso that when it comes
time for the lion's den,that's already who he is.
When I was in seminary before a test,we would pray because,
(14:43):
you know, it's seminaryand the professors would always pray.
This wonderful or obnoxious prayer,depending on
your perspective, they would say, God,please help these students.
Help themto remember everything they studied,
which if you studied, was a great prayer.
And if you didn't,speaking for my friends,
(15:05):
you felt a little judged in that moment.
You know, you're like God
and maybe even help out us sinnerswho forgot to study, right?
But what the point the professorswere making is one you already know.
Exams are the culminationof what you've learned over the semester.
Performance reviews at work
are the culmination of the workyou've put in that quarter.
(15:29):
Friends, listen.
God is interested in who you are today.
Regular obedience matters to God
and who you will bein those crucial moments.
Who you will be in those epicmoments is who
you are busy becoming
(15:51):
in the next few minutes.
Daniel's story is a story of regularobedience.
The circumstances around Daniel change,
but he just keeps doing what he's doing.
This story is a story that reminds youyour integrity matters.
(16:12):
Your moral choices matter.
Your willingness to forgive matters.
Your willingness to admityou were wrong matters.
Your cultivation of dependance matters,and you never really know
when it really matters.
Which is why regular obedienceis so important.
(16:34):
But the truth is, if we're honest,
epic obedience in some waysfeels easier, doesn't it?
Because you can see the moment comingand you know, I gotta show up.
It's the daily stuff that's hard.
Have you ever thought about why that is?
Well, I think it's for the same reason.
It's been hard for me to teach my kidswhen they're little to brush their teeth.
(16:59):
Kids do not understand the importance ofbrushing their teeth when they're little.
And they come down the stairsin the morning and you say,
did you brush your teeth?
They look at you like you're stupid. No.
Or they come down and go, yeah.
And you say, show me.
And they smile and traffic slows downoutside because the teeth are so yellow.
And you go, well,if you did, you didn't do very good.
(17:19):
Go back up.
And every timeyou seem to get back up there like.
Who cares?
But the thing is,the difference between me
and them isI understand why you brush your teeth.
Like one day they're going to want someoneto find them attractive,
and that person might until they smile
one day, they're going to want to dowell in a job interview.
(17:42):
They're going to want people
to feel like it's okay to stand withintwo feet of them and all of those things
require them learning the disciplineof brushing your teeth.
You see, the problem between my kids
and I is that I know why we're doing it,and they don't.
Friendslisten, your regular obedience matters.
(18:03):
It's another thing that Daniel sixteaches us it isn't being wasted.
And that's actually my second point.
Not just regular obedience.
Oh, but in real life.
In real. Life.
I want you to see that Daniel'sregular obedience
is not in a vacuum,and it's not in private.
Daniel is a man who lives his faith,who lives his obedience,
(18:26):
who lives his integrity out in public.
That's why they knowif they criminalize prayer, he will do it.
And the first thing I want you to see is,if you decide to pursue
regular obediencein real life, you will face opposition.
Daniel did, and you will too.
(18:46):
That's because the culture at large is notmoving towards God, but away from him.
If you practice obediencein your sexuality,
they will call you repressed.
If you practice obedienceand your integrity,
they will tell you to lighten up.
(19:07):
If you practice obedience
in your money,they'll tell you you're too generous.
You should be wiser.
It won't make sense to them.
Oppositionwill come to you in your workplace.
It'll come to you in your family.
It'll come to you in your social group.
But here's the crucial point of Daniel six
God wants to use that opposition
(19:30):
to create opportunity for observation.
God wants to use the opposition
to your regular obedienceto create opportunity for observation.
And look with me at verse16. Here's what it says.
Then the king commanded,
and Daniel was brought in, castinto the den of lions.
(19:51):
The king declared to Daniel, May your God
whom you serve continually deliver you.
And a stone was broughtand laid on the mouth of the den.
And the king sealed it with his ownsignet, and with the signet of his lords,
that nothing might be changedconcerning Daniel.
And then the king went into his palaceand spent the night fasting.
(20:12):
No diversions were brought to him,and sleep fled from him.
Then at the break of day the king aroseand went in haste to the den of lions.
And as he came near to the denwhere Daniel was,
he cried out in a tone of anguish,and the king declared to Daniel,
oh, Daniel, servant of the livingGod has your God
whom you serve continually been ableto deliver you from the lion's friends.
(20:37):
Do you see when you obey
God in the midst of a culturethat is moving in the opposite direction,
you will have haters,you will have enemies.
You will have people who lieabout you, gossip about you, attack you,
who get in your way.
You will also have. Darius's.
(20:58):
Men and women who are.
Curious.
Men, and women who are drawn to you,
who are wonderingwhy do you live the way you live?
Why do you do the things that you do?
Men and women whose curiositywill lead them to the brink,
and they will peer downinto the den of your obedience
and they will wonder out loud,will your God come through?
(21:23):
That's what Darius does.
He sends Daniel to the lionsand he says, May the God that you serve
come through for you.
He can't sleep. He can't.
He can't entertain himself.
And then the minute the sun comes up,he rushes to the den
and he's asking a question.Not for Daniel.
He's asking a question for himself.
Has your God proven true?
(21:45):
Friends?
What if.
What if the tool that God wants to use
to bring your husband to faith.
Your sister?
Your brother?
Your wife?
Your roommate?
Your friend
is your regular obedience.
(22:06):
The contrasting narrative
of the way you live,the contrasting integrity
of the way you moveeven though it threatens you,
even though it leads to opposition,even though it lands you in the den.
What if that is the momentin which that person you care
so deeply about stares into your life
(22:28):
and says, is your God real?
God does not waste your obedience.
He does not waste the opposition.
It creates opportunity for observation
as to his reality.
(22:48):
Brushing your teeth spiritually matters.
Your integrity
matters.
It creates opportunityfor observation, but.
Not only that, let me show youmy third point.
It's not just that regular obediencein real life,
but it's also that's the plan of God.
(23:10):
God's plan for salvaje.
Look how Daniel answersDarius in verse 21.
Then Daniel said to the king,O King, live forever.
My God sent his angeland 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.
(23:33):
And 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.
Skip down to verse 25.
Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples,nations, and languages
that dwell in all the earth, peacebe multiplied to you.
(23:55):
I make a decreethat in all my royal dominion people
are to tremble and fearbefore the God of Daniel.
For he is the living God enduring forever.
His kingdom shall never be destroyed.
His dominion shall be to the end.
He delivers and he rescues.
He works signs and wonders in heavenand on earth, for
he has saved Danielfrom the power of the lion's friends.
(24:18):
This story begins with regular prayer.
It ends with theking writing a worship song.
Regular obedience in real life
is how God leads people to himself.
Friends, to get this story, forget Darius,who cares about him.
You don't know him, and neither do I.
(24:39):
I want you to imagine what it would belike for your husband to be next
to your wife, next to your brother,in front of you, in the pew, hands raised,
singing the songs we sing, saying,I know that God is good.
I've seen his goodness.
And I met him
through the daily obedience of you.
(25:03):
That is God's plan.
That's always been God's plan.
Build the boat.
Go toe to toe with Pharaoh.
Keep the Sabbath,eat the bread from heaven.
Get water from a rock. Obey me.
God says sothat they will know I'm real friends.
If you're here this weekendand you're not yet a Christian, my desire
(25:25):
is for you to see that all of Danielsix is God's pursuit of Darius.
His heart.
The God of
the Bible, is a God who's for you, who.
Loves you, who wants to forgive you.
Even the differences, the contrast,the weirdness of the Christian
who invited you this weekend.
(25:48):
Is God's attempt to get your attention.
Be curious.
Ask questions.
Wonder whether or not this God is real?
Watch him show up.
A brother or sister in Christ.
I know you might think, well,good for Daniel.
God use Daniel's obedienceto get the king's attention.
(26:09):
That's Daniel, that's that's not me.
But friends, listen to me.
This is what God has always done.
You are a Christian today,whether you realize it or not.
Because of the regular obedience of Jesus.
Jesus who goes to the crossto carry his sin, not mine.
(26:29):
And you know why?
He can carry his sin and not mine?
Because daily
he said no to selfishness.
Daily he said no to laziness
daily he said no to hatred.
Jesus, who is faithful minuteby minute, day by day, month
by month, year by year, decade by decade.
(26:50):
It's his regular obedience that makeshis epic obedience on the cross.
Good news for me,
so that when he comes up under the angerand wrath
and judgment of God, it's for my sin,not his, because he didn't have any.
So that when he dies and then raisesthree days later, it's my victory
as well as his because he, throughhis regular obedience, could carry my sin.
(27:16):
Friends, this is the very mechanism
that God used to win you to himself.
It's the very thing he wants to do inand through
you to change the world around you.
Stop ringing your handsabout the state of our country,
and start getting seriousabout the state of your own obedience.
(27:39):
Take your eyes off of the horizon
and what might be coming in the future,and put them a step in front of you.
What's the next step of integrity?
What's the next step of forgiveness?
What's the next step of apologizing?
Of reconciling?
What does God want to do today
to reach the Darius's around me?
(28:01):
Brothersand sisters, real obedience in real
life is God's planto point people to Jesus.
It will not be wasted.
I know many of you have the couragefor the epic moments,
but what God is calling us tois a daily courage, a minute by minute.
(28:23):
Courage to be obedient,
to be dependent on him.
Let me pray for us. Father God.
Thank you for Danielsix and how ordinary it is.
Most of us feel ordinary.
Thank you that you have been
using the obedience that changed lives,
(28:44):
the testimony of ordinary peoplefor 2000 years
to change the world.
Use it to change our families,
our communities, our culture,
one step at a time.
Jesus name we pray. Amen.
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