June 2, 2025 • 40 mins
What happens when our faith is truly put to the test? Daniel's story reveals the power of unwavering loyalty to God when faced with life-threatening consequences.
When government officials couldn't find any dirt on Daniel despite searching for corruption or negligence, they targeted the only "weakness" they could find—his devotion to God. Manipulating King Darius into creating a decree that no one could pray to any god or human except the king himself for thirty days, they set a trap that would force Daniel to choose between compromising his faith or facing death in the lions' den.
The remarkable thing about Daniel's response wasn't just his courage—it was his consistency. Without hesitation, he went home, opened his windows toward Jerusalem as was his custom, and prayed three times daily, giving thanks to God exactly as he had always done. He understood that spiritual compromise, like physical compromise, happens incrementally. Small concessions eventually erode our character in significant ways.
This story challenges us to examine our own lives and the subtle compromises we make daily. What shapes our decisions, priorities, and identity? As John Piper notes, "Worship is valuing or treasuring God above all things"—and we can measure what we value most by how we spend our time and money. In a world constantly demanding our allegiance to countless things—success, approval, comfort, power—Daniel's example reminds us that only one throne is eternal.
Are you living with eternity in view, or have you settled for the temporary? When life gets difficult, is prayer your first response or an afterthought? What does your daily life reveal about where your true loyalty lies? Daniel's unwavering faith not only saved his life but brought glory to God throughout a pagan kingdom. What might God do through your unwavering faith today?
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
So the book of Daniel is a case study in what it
looks like to have an unwaveringfaith.
The book of Daniel is alsolooking at what it is when you
have particularly men in thissituation who are unwavering in
their character.
They're not allowing theircircumstances to change who they
(00:27):
are.
Daniel's evidence of that.
He's in exile.
He's lost his home, he's losteverything.
He's under the rule of theseincredibly crazy kings.
Nebuchadnezzar was known forbeing nuts.
His son, belshazzar, had ashort reign, but it wasn't a
good one.
It was common.
(00:49):
Especially then, whenever youtook another country in exile,
you tried to erase who they were.
You tried to wipe them off theface of the map.
You changed their identity.
You made them like you.
So here Daniel is, stuck inexile.
He's not his own people, butGod has placed him in some
(01:09):
really unique positions.
God's allowing him to serve andto do things that are probably
beyond his comprehension.
And then you have Shadrach,meshach and Abednego and the
fiery furnace incident, wherethey chose to stay faithful to
God, even if he didn't save them.
(01:30):
But Daniel is the highlight ofthe story because his gifts have
given him an incredibleopportunity to interpret dreams.
And so we get to Daniel 6,.
And there's another regimechange Daniel, chapter 5,.
Belshazzar.
God said listen, it's all beingtaken away from you.
(01:52):
And that night he died.
And so in come the Medes andthe Persians, and we meet a man
by the name of Darius.
So Daniel, chapter 6, verses 1through 5.
So it pleased Darius to appoint120 satraps to rule throughout
the kingdom, with threeadministrators over them, one of
(02:14):
them being Daniel.
The satraps were madeaccountable to them so that the
king might not suffer loss.
Now, daniel so distinguishedhimself among the administrators
and the satraps by hisexceptional qualities that the
king planned to set him over thewhole kingdom.
At this, the administrators andthe satraps tried to find
(02:37):
grounds for charges againstDaniel in the conduct of his
government affairs, but theywere unable to do so.
They could find no corruptionin him because he was
trustworthy and neither corruptnor negligent.
Finally, these men said we willnever find any basis for
charges against this man, daniel, unless it has something to do
(02:58):
with the law of his God.
Now can you imagine for amoment a politician who doesn't
have dirt?
You know this last election run.
The one thing that I noticed,probably more than anything, is
the amount of negative ads.
I feel like doubled.
So what?
No one's talking about whatthey're going to do for us.
(03:19):
They're talking about the otherperson has done wrong or how
bad or awful that person is.
And so that's what's happeninghere, these government officials
.
They get together and they saylet's go after Daniel and his
moral character.
And the Bible tells us, theyfind nothing.
They say, okay, so clearly hemust have done something in all
(03:41):
of his time and in all of hisleadership roles.
He must have neglected someone.
Fine, then he didn't.
They try to find all these waysto prove that he's corrupt or
not worthy.
And yet Daniel has impeccablecharacter.
He has stayed true to who Godhas called him to be
consistently.
(04:02):
So then they go after the onlything he has left.
They say surely hisfaithfulness to God, that'll,
let's go after that.
Let's challenge that.
It says.
Throughout much of the book ofDaniel, we see the prophet
repeatedly confronted with testsof ultimate loyalty.
(04:24):
Chapter 6, no exception.
Daniel has distinguishedhimself as an exceptional
administrator under King Darius,which led the king to consider
promoting him over the entirekingdom.
This stirred jealousy amongother officials who sought to
undermine him.
Unable to find any fault in hiswork, they targeted his faith,
(04:44):
knowing that Daniel would nevercompromise his devotion to God,
they manipulated the king intoissuing a decree that for 30
days no one could pray to anyGod or human except Darius
himself.
In a polytheistic culturethat's what this was they kind
of have tolerance for otherpeople's beliefs.
Darius wasn't opposed to God.
(05:06):
Everyone kind of shared theirbelief system.
But in this kind of culture itwasn't unlikely that this would
happen.
But there was a moment in timewhen they are calling loyalty in
the question.
So, as John Woodward explains,the probability is that Darius
(05:29):
regarded this act as a pledge ofloyalty to himself and a token
of their desire to respect hisauthority to the utmost.
So, darius, they go to KingDarius and they say listen, we
want people to, only for thenext 30 days, to worship you, oh
great and wise king.
(05:51):
We want to show that we respectyou and that we love you, and
everyone should love you.
So Daniel, chapter 6, verses 6through 9, says so.
These administrators and satrapsone is a group of the king king
and said may King Darius liveforever.
The royal administration, theprefects, satraps, advisors and
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government have all agreed thatthe king should issue an edict
and enforce a decree that anyonewho prays to any god or human
being for the next 30 daysexcept to you, your majesty,
they should be thrown into thelion's den.
Now, your majesty, issue thedecree and put it into writing
so that it cannot be altered Inaccordance with the law of the
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Medes and the Persians, whichcannot be repealed.
So King Darius put the decreein writing.
I've always found thatfascinating, right?
Because the way that kings workis, once they put something
down in writing and sealed, thatwas it.
There was no coming back fromthat, and that always gets them
in trouble, like historically,always gets them in the trouble.
(06:55):
But they go to the king andthey butter him up, they speak
to his pride and they say, king,let no one worship anyone but
you.
And so here lies the question,right?
What does Daniel do in asituation like this?
(07:16):
What's he supposed to do?
You know, compromise is easy.
Compromise in the world todayis Cody and I had a conversation
earlier in the week about this.
Compromise is something thatusually happens like a little
bit at a time.
I remember in 2014, so 2015,.
(07:39):
Right before Everett was born,everett being my oldest.
If you don't know that, he'llbe 10 this year, which is crazy.
It's almost 10 years ago, rightbefore ever was born, I I was
on this like kick because Iwanted to lose weight and I got
down to like 320 I don't know ifyou know me, but 320 is a good
way for me like, I feel prettygood.
At 320, I was pretty solid.
(08:00):
I was hitting the gym.
I was, you know, getting there.
You know, some lady stopped mein the store and asked me at 29
years old if I wanted to go playfor like a city football league
, and I was like yeah.
And then I went and watched.
I was like no, no, I appreciatethat, but no, like I'm, I'm,
I'm too old, like I'm not old,but I feel like it would have
broke me Right.
But I did, I put in the workand I worked really hard to lose
(08:23):
the weight.
I got in shape.
And then Everett was born andlife got busy and so I started
compromising.
The first compromise I made isI started drinking pop again and
I would tell myself I'm onlygoing to have this one Mountain
Dew.
And then there was two and thenext thing, you know, before the
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end of the week, I drank atwo-liter and I was like no, no,
it's fine, it's just MountainDew.
And then I started eatingdifferent again and I was like
you know, around my birthday Iwas like I want that Dairy Queen
ice cream cake and we got oneand I ate a piece, and then I
ate half of it.
Listen, I'm just saying right.
(09:04):
But?
But I started making choices andas I got further along and and
here's what I started notice Iwould weigh myself.
I was like, oh, I put on 10pounds, like I'll be fine, I can
come back from that.
And then I stopped working out.
Then I kept eating and thenlast year when I weighed weighed
myself, I weighed 450 poundsand I was like whew.
(09:27):
I was like nope, no way, I'mdead serious, I promise.
I stepped on my scale and I waslike what?
But it's because I madecompromises along the way.
I would allow little things toget into my life and before you
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know it, all of my old habitshad come back.
I'm currently on a weight lossand I'm down 50 pounds and I
keep telling myself don't eatthe junk.
I'm not good at it, but I'mtrying.
But compromise happens and wesee it a lot of times physically
, but we see compromise happenspiritually.
Well, I didn't spend time inGod's Word today.
(10:12):
I guess I'll do it tomorrow,and then tomorrow turns into a
week and then a week turns intoa month.
Well, I didn't go to churchtoday, but that's okay, I don't
really need to.
I make it up.
Next week I was busy, and thenwe compromise, and the next week
you're busy, and then somethingelse comes up.
(10:33):
Well, I don't really need toteach my kids how to pray and
study.
They'll figure that out inschool.
Isn't that why we have Sundayschool teachers?
It's not really my place.
And then they get older and theywalk away from God and we have
no idea what happened.
We see it in our marriages.
You know, I've worked in acouple warehouses in my life and
(10:54):
I can tell you that I've workedin some places where there's
some relationships that I've hadthat to me were nothing more
than a conversation.
But I've come to realize thatsometimes being nice to someone
can be misconstrued.
There was one time when I wasworking for Abercrombie Fitch
and me and this girl her namewas Courtney and she was one of
my good friends and we worked inthe same area and someone
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jokingly said to me one time isthat your work, wife?
And I was like no, because nowI have to go back and think what
?
No?
No, because now I have to goback and think what was I doing?
That was making people thinkthat I know that doesn't seem
like a big deal, but that's acompromise, because that
compromise can lead to otherthings.
Billy Graham is one of myfavorite people in the world
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because he had no compromise.
He would not.
I don't know if you knew thisabout him.
He wouldn't even ride in anelevator with a woman that
wasn't his wife.
He wouldn't even ride in anelevator with a woman that
wasn't his wife.
He wouldn't go out to eat witha woman that wasn't his wife.
He wouldn't do anything with awoman that wasn't his wife alone
.
Ever and in all of his years ofministry, he never had a
scandal.
He taught his staff to do thesame thing.
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There was no compromise, but wecompromise in our faith.
We compromise in our marriage.
We compromise in our marriage.
We compromise in the littlethings that we don't think are a
problem until we realize we'reso far down the road.
And so here, daniel has adecision to make.
It's only 30 days, right.
(12:20):
Imagine that it's only 30 daysnot praying to God, I'll be okay
, it's only 30 days giving myloyalty to King Darius.
He's a nice guy, he's a goodking, we're friends.
It's only 30 days, but Danielunderstood that compromise,
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compromising now, compromisescharacter later.
Always the little decisions wemake come back and eventually
bite us.
Daniel was a man of character,a man of faith.
Daniel decides, knowing that hecould face death, that it
doesn't matter.
So Daniel 6, knowing that hecould face death, that it
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doesn't matter.
So Daniel 6, chapter 10, orchapter 6, verse 10, says now,
when Daniel learned that thedecree had been published listen
, I love this because hisimmediate response says he went
home to his upstairs room wherethe windows opened toward
Jerusalem, and three times a dayhe got down on his knees and he
prayed, giving thanks to God,just as he had done before.
(13:27):
Daniel hears that if he praysto any other person besides
Darius, that he could be throwninto lion's den and the first
thing he does is he goes homeand he prays to God.
Notice, he doesn't ask God tosave him.
He gives thanks to God as hehad always done before.
(13:49):
Then these men went as a groupand they found Daniel praying
and asking God for help.
So they went to the king andspoke to him about his royal
decree.
Did you not publish a decreethat during the next 30 days,
anyone who prays to any god orhuman being except to you, your
majesty, will be thrown into thelion's den?
The king answered the decreestands in accordance with the
(14:11):
law of the Medes and thePersians, which cannot be
repealed.
Then they said to the kingDaniel, who is one of the exiles
from Judah, pays no attentionto you, your majesty, or the
decree you put in writing.
He still prays three times aday.
When the king heard this, hewas greatly distressed.
He was determined to rescueDaniel and made every effort
(14:34):
until sundown to save him.
So Darius and Daniel are friendsand Darius hears about what
happens and he realizes that hehas to stand.
He's a king right?
Listen, daniel can't compromiseor Darius can't compromise
either.
He made a decree, he wrote itdown.
It's in writing.
(14:54):
If he changes it now, they willtear his kingdom apart.
That kind of power, that kindof loyalty, is only given to
those who stand for what theybelieve.
So here you have, daniel andDarius at odds.
They have two differentloyalties.
Daniel 6 is all about loyalty.
(15:18):
Darius has to be loyal tohimself, his beliefs, who he is,
his kingdom.
Daniel only has to be loyal toGod, but Daniel's loyalty could
cost him his life.
Again, though, I mean it's just30 days.
(15:43):
Why not just compromise?
There's got to be a mediumright.
We, as a culture, we love themiddle ground.
We always want to try to findpeace and work together.
Those aren't bad things, butthere are some issues,
especially biblical issues, thatto me there's no give.
It's what God has declared,that this is how it's supposed
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to be, but we always try tocompromise, we try to make it
work.
We manipulate Scripture, wemanipulate text.
We don't have hardconversations with family
members that we love, becausewe're hoping that maybe it will
just work out in the end,because we're hoping that maybe
it'll just work out in the end.
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Daniel is someone who couldhave compromised.
He could have just, you know,he could have worshipped Darius
and put his fingers behind hisback and crossed his fingers
right oh, worship you, o king.
He could have faked it.
He could do gaslighting, try tomake him think he's so
wonderful and powerful, thoughover time he's over here in the
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corner silently praying to God.
He could have compromised, butcompromising always leads to
character being compromisedAlways.
So much of Scripture is facedwith this idea that God is the
only one, that God is sovereign,that God is the only one who
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dictates how we live, the thingswe do, the things we say.
Scripture is what it is.
There's a book that I'm readingright now and it's kind of a
fun one to read, but it's calledthe Ink is Dry and it's talking
about Scripture.
Scripture has already beenwritten.
God has already determined thisis what it is.
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You and I don't get to come intothe Bible and say, oh well,
this doesn't fit.
No, I don't want to love mywife like God loves the church.
That doesn't make sense to me.
No, I don't want to teach mykids to keep unwholesome talk
out of their mouth.
That was written back then.
That doesn't matter.
We don't get to pick and choosewhat applies.
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When we come to Scripture, wesay God, what here needs to
change me?
What about my life is broken?
What about me is wrong?
Am I too prideful?
Am I too arrogant?
Do I not love enough?
Do I not serve enough?
Do I not give enough?
You know it's funny this shirt.
(18:14):
I do think it's funny, buthonestly, this is probably how I
think about myself and I'm okaywith that.
I don't ever want to think I'manything more than just some guy
that loves Jesus, trying toteach other people to love Jesus
.
I don't want to be a celebrity.
I don't want to be famous.
You see that it's nuts man.
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I know famous pastors andthat's a crazy life.
I would be content at the endof my life if God said all right
, okay as pastor, welcome home,because I want to live a life
that's so true to what God'scalling me to do that compromise
is not an option.
I want to teach other peoplewho are trying to find faith
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that God is not calling you tocompromise.
He's calling you to change.
Standing on the truth of God isthe single greatest thing we can
do At the end of our life.
It's the only thing thatmatters anyways.
It's the only thing that'seternal, and you and I live in a
world that are constantlychallenging us and our loyalties
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.
Who are you loyal to?
Is it yourself?
Is it a political affiliation?
Is it a celebrity?
Who are we really loyal to?
People always ask me whatmatters most to you, and my
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first answer is always God.
My family comes next.
Yeah, my family is second toGod.
I just want to make that clear.
It's not that I don't love myfamily, not at all.
And then, after I love myfamily, I love my church.
I know Sorry, you guys are third, but here's the thing my family
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is my first ministry.
They matter.
Teaching my kids how to followJesus and loving my wife like
Jesus loves me is the greatestthing I can do.
But ultimately my loyalty liesin the one who's calling me, the
one who has saved me, whichmeans that sometimes God calls
me to do stuff, not that it willever hurt my family, because
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he's never done that, butsometimes we as a family make a
decision because it's the bestthing for him, even if it's not
necessarily the best thing forus.
That's a compromise that I'munwilling to waver on.
Is it inconvenient, yeah, whenyou say here I am God, sendver
on.
Is it inconvenient, yeah, whenyou say here I am God, send me?
Guess what he sends you?
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But then my church.
I love my church, but my familyalways comes first.
There's no compromise, andDaniel is a man who has chosen
not to compromise, not even aninch.
He goes to his room and he praysDaniel, chapter 6, verse 15.
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Then the men went as a group toKing Darius and said to him
remember your majesty, accordingto the law of the Medes and the
Persians, no decree or edict ofthe king issues can be changed.
So the king gave the order andthey brought Daniel and threw
him into the lion's den.
And the king said to Daniel Mayyour God, whom you serve,
continually rescue you.
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A stone was brought and placedover the mouth of the den and
the king sealed it with his ownsignet ring and with the rings
of his nobles, so that Daniel'ssituation might not be changed.
And the king returned to hispalace and spent the night
without eating and without anyentertainment being brought to
him, as he could not sleep.
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By the way, I don't know if yousee it, but I love the imagery A
stone is rolled away.
I don't know if you see it, butI love the imagery.
A stone is rolled away, rolledin front of the opening of a
cave, with a presumed dead manto come out.
If that doesn't point to Jesus,I don't know what does.
But Daniel has to face theconsequences.
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He has to face thoseconsequences for his actions.
God didn't save him from thelion's den, so that's important,
because a lot of times when wego to God and we talk about life
and we pray about things.
If we're honest, we wouldrather God spare us from any
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kind of problems.
We don't want any kind ofburdens.
We want to live a life whereeverything's perfect all the
time and there's no problems.
And if God can give us that,then we'll follow him.
But Daniel has that.
Even if mentality that, even ifGod for some reason doesn't
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save me in this place, I'm goingto make sure that they know who
I stand for.
King Darius is torn apart bythis.
He liked Daniel.
He was about to lose a goodleader.
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But his pride, his ownallegiance to himself, says
Darius didn't realize until itwas too late that the whole
situation had really been abouthim.
The decree wasn't designed tohonor the king.
It was a trap carefully craftedto eliminate Daniel, a
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perceived threat to the powerand influence of the other
officials.
But pride has a way of bindingus, doesn't it?
After all, who doesn't want tobe admired?
He doesn't want to feel thepull to be at the center, to be
honored, to be worshipped, evenin subtle ways.
When Darius was presented withan opportunity to make himself
the sole object of prayer for 30days.
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He didn't stop to question it.
The flattery felt good, theloyalty sounded reassuring.
The implications he didn'tconsider them.
It was too late.
That's what happens when pridecreeps in.
Pride is not just one sin amongmany.
It's the root of so many others.
It goes all the way back toeden.
(24:28):
Adam and eve didn't eat thefruit just because they were
hungry.
They wanted to be like god.
It's pride, the desire to putourselves at the center of the
story, the belief that we knowbetter, the temptation to serve
ourselves instead of submittingto the one true king.
And here, in Daniel 6, pridenearly cost Darius everything,
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one of his greatest friends, hismost loyal and capable servant,
all because someone stoked hisego.
Just enough it should remind usthe dangers of pride.
Who are you or what are youallowing to fuel your ego
instead of feeding your soul?
Are there decisions you've madeor you're tempted to make not
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because they honor God, butbecause they make you feel
powerful, important or incontrol?
Because here's the thing pridealways has a cost, again,
compromise.
When we are seeking ourselffirst, when we are seeking to
build our kingdom first, wecompromise.
We don't make big steps infaith.
(25:35):
We do just enough to make surethat we can say we can do this.
We don't give sacrificially,whether because of our time, our
energy or our money.
We give just enough to feellike we've accomplished and we
can say that we gave something.
But we never give until ithurts.
We don't live for God and wedon't stand on the truth of
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God's Word, even if the rest ofthe world doesn't agree with us.
Instead, we compromise, wewater down our conversations, we
don't say the hard things, weallow people to say the wrong
things and we don't even offercorrection and listen.
There's a way to do that.
(26:18):
We talk about love and mercyand grace, but we never talk
about the fact that God is holyand that God is true, and that
God is true and that his word isforever.
We find ourselves choosing tofollow the world because it's
the easier thing to do.
We compromise and we sacrificeour character in the process.
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This is why compromising isdangerous, because I would
venture to say that no one inthis room has ever been
threatened with death for theirbeliefs could be wrong.
But I can also tell you that Iknow a lot of missionaries that
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I'm friends with who have.
They've been threatened to bearrested, extradited out of a
country, blacklisted.
Their children have beenthreatened, their whole lives,
their means of living have beensacrificed.
But they were unwilling tocompromise Church.
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We have to be people that areunwilling to compromise the
truth and the word of God.
We cannot simply allow thingsto change how we feel or who we
are or the things we do, simplybecause the world doesn't
understand it.
You and I have to stand ontruth always, because compromise
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sacrifices character.
And so Daniel comes to thismoment in his life and he says
no matter what happens to menext, I'm going to pray to God
as I'm supposed to, and theconsequence of that action is
he's dragged off, thrown into apit full of lions and a stone is
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rolled in front.
I always wonder what that wouldbe like To literally be thrown
into a cave full of lions.
I would like to think I'mpretty big and I could probably
handle like one or two of them.
But have you ever seen themhunt?
(28:41):
They're like they're good man,they like sneak up on you.
It's like the female lions thathunt all the time.
If you ever watch a documentary, they're scary, they're fast.
When I was in Africa, I sawthem take down an elephant.
I was like, just kick it.
You're an elephant, nope, nope.
They're ferocious man, theyknow what they're doing.
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But I can imagine that what'sDaniel thinking this is it.
This is where I die.
This is the end of my story.
He's prayed, did everything hewas supposed to.
I don't know, was he mad at GodBecause he didn't save him from
(29:25):
the lion's den?
I don't know, was he mad at Godbecause he didn't save him from
the lion's den?
But Daniel chose not tocompromise.
He didn't even know the end ofthe story.
Daniel, chapter 6, starting inverse 19, says that the first
light of dawn the king got upand hurried to the lion's den.
(29:56):
And when he came near the den,he called to Daniel in an
anguished voice and said it saysKing, live forever.
My God sent his angel and heshut the mouths of the lions.
They have not hurt me because Iwas found innocent in his sight
, nor have I ever done any wrongbefore you, your majesty.
The king was overjoyed and gaveorders to lift Daniel out of
(30:19):
the den.
And when Daniel was lifted fromthe den, no wound was found on
him because he had trusted inhis God.
And just in case you'rewondering whether or not the
lions were hungry.
At the king's command, the menwho had falsely accused Daniel
were brought in and thrown intothe lion's den along Saying this
(30:41):
is scripture, not me, but thisis what kings did.
They threw the men in withtheir wives and their children
Before they reached the floor ofthe den.
The lions overpowered them andcrushed all of their bones.
They faced the consequences forlying.
They tried to manipulate thesituation and it didn't work out
(31:04):
.
It cost them.
It cost them.
It cost them, it cost theirfamily, it cost their children
their lives.
So then King Darius wrote toall the nations and peoples of
every language and all earthsaid may you prosper greatly.
I issue a decree that in everypart of my kingdom people must
(31:24):
fear and reverence the God ofDaniel, for he is the living God
and he endures forever.
His kingdom will not bedestroyed.
His dominion will never end.
He rescues and he saves.
He performs signs and wondersin the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel from thepower of the lions.
So Daniel prospered during thereign of Darius and the reign of
(31:45):
Sirius Cyrus the Persian.
The end of that is it can behard to read, you think what did
the kids do?
What did the parents?
What did the wives do?
But those men, they lied, theymanipulated, they compromised
(32:06):
who they were.
They were so worried aboutDaniel that they did everything
they could to try to get rid ofhim.
But Daniel didn't.
Daniel stayed true to who hewas.
Daniel never compromised, evenin the face of adversity, he
(32:28):
never compromised.
So that's the question, right,what compromises do we make If
we call ourselves Christians, ifwe're living to be like Jesus?
What compromises do we make toget in the way of that?
And that's not just like aquestion for you, that's a
question for me what things inmy life have I allowed to change
(32:50):
, even a little bit?
Because I think we have to askthat question all the time,
Because I think we have to askthat question all the time.
What changes?
What things are we giving in on?
What truths are we compromising?
Talk about our marriages.
What are we doing to protectour marriages?
(33:12):
What are we doing to protectour kids?
What are we teaching them?
What are we showing them?
That's important.
I think that's the biggestquestion is, if we teach our
kids that the church isimportant and that a
relationship with God isimportant, does our life model
that?
Do they see and listen?
(33:36):
This is my prayer for my kids.
Do my kids see that God comesfirst, then my family, then my
job?
And let me tell you, as someonewho's in ministry, sometimes I
get that wrong.
Sometimes I put the churchahead of my family and I've got
to go to my wife and apologizefor that.
Sometimes I have to go andapologize to my kids for that,
(33:59):
because I want them tounderstand that they are the
most important thing to me.
They are my first and foremost,my greatest ministry, and if
they see me compromising that,it's going to change the way
they look at me.
It might even change the waythey look at the church.
I want them to see that peopleare deserving of love and grace
and mercy, but that we also haveto be people who stand for
(34:24):
truth, even when it's difficult.
The way that they live, the waythey interact, the things that
they say, that it matters.
There's something that I starteddoing recently with my kids,
and it's not my own idea, Iactually took it from someone
else.
But we go out and I ask my kidstwo questions.
My first question is who are weand the boy's like we're the
(34:44):
Kleins.
I'm like that's right, that'sour last name.
And my second question is whodo we represent?
And they say we represent God.
I'm like that's the secondquestion, because everything you
do once you leave thisconversation represents God and
represents us.
What are you showing the worldabout those things?
(35:05):
Now, they're kids.
They do dumb things, by the way, just so you know, as my kids
get older, even though I dopreach, my kids aren't perfect.
They're going to mess up.
I don't need you to tell me, Iprobably already know.
But it's important that thatquestion's in their mind because
they have to understand thechurch is important, the serving
God is important and the kindof people they are important.
(35:27):
Because every time wecompromise, we sacrifice
character, and I want my kids tobe strong in character.
I want my kids to be strong intheir faith.
I want my marriage to be strongin faith.
I want to know that at the endof my life that I compromised
nothing and somehow still gainedeverything.
(35:53):
So in a world constantlydemanding our loyalty, daniel
Stans is a powerful example ofunwavering faith.
At the day of the world, itstill calls for us to worship
many things Success, approval,comfort, power.
But the question is, how do werespond when everything else
around us whispers follow meinstead?
(36:16):
What about when the cost ishigh, when fear presses in, when
standing for God might meanrejection, loss or even death?
While many of us may not facephysical persecution where we
live, countless believersworldwide pay the ultimate price
just for staying faithful.
Their stories echo Daniel'scourage and conviction.
(36:38):
But what about us Right here,right now?
What does it look like to befaithful to the kingdom that God
has called us to build?
What does it mean to choose himabove all else in a culture
filled with distractions andcompeting loyalties?
Daniel's story teaches us thatworship isn't always about a
golden statue or loud commands.
(36:59):
It often wears subtle disguises.
Sometimes it's the pedestal weput others on.
Sometimes it's how we spend ourdays, chasing things with no
eternal value.
Sometimes it's the way weinvest our time, our energy and
our money.
These are the true reflectionsof what we worship.
(37:20):
What we worship will shape whatwe live for, and what we live
for will shape how we spend ourtime, our money and our energy.
John Piper says it this wayworship is valuing or treasuring
God above all things.
You can measure what you valuemost by how you spend your time
and your money.
God's call is clear.
(37:40):
We see this all throughout thebook of Daniel.
Worship him alone.
Daniel lived this truth, facingdeath itself.
He stood firm because he knewthe eternal nature of God and
the fleeting nature of earthlypowers.
Kings like Darius come and go,but God's kingdom lasts forever,
and it was God who deliveredDaniel from the lion's den.
(38:02):
So that's the question what areyou loyal to?
What shapes your decisions?
What shapes your priorities?
What shapes your identity?
When life gets hard, is prayeryour first response, or is it an
afterthought?
Does your daily life proclaimallegiance to God or to
(38:23):
something far less, becauseeverything else will always be
far less?
Daniel knew who he was becausehe knew who God was.
That certainly fueled hiscourage In every moment,
especially the hardest ones.
He sought God first.
Who are you serving?
Does your life, your time, yourresources reveal that loyalty?
(38:47):
The world offers many temporarythrones, but only one eternal
king.
Are you living?
Are you living?
Are we living?
Are you living?
Are we living?
Are we living with eternity inview, or have we compromised and
(39:11):
only settled for the temporary?
Let's pray.
So the book of Daniel is a case study in what it
looks like to have an unwaveringfaith.
The book of Daniel is alsolooking at what it is when you
have particularly men in thissituation who are unwavering in
their character.
They're not allowing theircircumstances to change who they
(00:27):
are.
Daniel's evidence of that.
He's in exile.
He's lost his home, he's losteverything.
He's under the rule of theseincredibly crazy kings.
Nebuchadnezzar was known forbeing nuts.
His son, belshazzar, had ashort reign, but it wasn't a
good one.
It was common.
(00:49):
Especially then, whenever youtook another country in exile,
you tried to erase who they were.
You tried to wipe them off theface of the map.
You changed their identity.
You made them like you.
So here Daniel is, stuck inexile.
He's not his own people, butGod has placed him in some
(01:09):
really unique positions.
God's allowing him to serve andto do things that are probably
beyond his comprehension.
And then you have Shadrach,meshach and Abednego and the
fiery furnace incident, wherethey chose to stay faithful to
God, even if he didn't save them.
(01:30):
But Daniel is the highlight ofthe story because his gifts have
given him an incredibleopportunity to interpret dreams.
And so we get to Daniel 6,.
And there's another regimechange Daniel, chapter 5,.
Belshazzar.
God said listen, it's all beingtaken away from you.
(01:52):
And that night he died.
And so in come the Medes andthe Persians, and we meet a man
by the name of Darius.
So Daniel, chapter 6, verses 1through 5.
So it pleased Darius to appoint120 satraps to rule throughout
the kingdom, with threeadministrators over them, one of
(02:14):
them being Daniel.
The satraps were madeaccountable to them so that the
king might not suffer loss.
Now, daniel so distinguishedhimself among the administrators
and the satraps by hisexceptional qualities that the
king planned to set him over thewhole kingdom.
At this, the administrators andthe satraps tried to find
(02:37):
grounds for charges againstDaniel in the conduct of his
government affairs, but theywere unable to do so.
They could find no corruptionin him because he was
trustworthy and neither corruptnor negligent.
Finally, these men said we willnever find any basis for
charges against this man, daniel, unless it has something to do
(02:58):
with the law of his God.
Now can you imagine for amoment a politician who doesn't
have dirt?
You know this last election run.
The one thing that I noticed,probably more than anything, is
the amount of negative ads.
I feel like doubled.
So what?
No one's talking about whatthey're going to do for us.
(03:19):
They're talking about the otherperson has done wrong or how
bad or awful that person is.
And so that's what's happeninghere, these government officials
.
They get together and they saylet's go after Daniel and his
moral character.
And the Bible tells us, theyfind nothing.
They say, okay, so clearly hemust have done something in all
(03:41):
of his time and in all of hisleadership roles.
He must have neglected someone.
Fine, then he didn't.
They try to find all these waysto prove that he's corrupt or
not worthy.
And yet Daniel has impeccablecharacter.
He has stayed true to who Godhas called him to be
consistently.
(04:02):
So then they go after the onlything he has left.
They say surely hisfaithfulness to God, that'll,
let's go after that.
Let's challenge that.
It says.
Throughout much of the book ofDaniel, we see the prophet
repeatedly confronted with testsof ultimate loyalty.
(04:24):
Chapter 6, no exception.
Daniel has distinguishedhimself as an exceptional
administrator under King Darius,which led the king to consider
promoting him over the entirekingdom.
This stirred jealousy amongother officials who sought to
undermine him.
Unable to find any fault in hiswork, they targeted his faith,
(04:44):
knowing that Daniel would nevercompromise his devotion to God,
they manipulated the king intoissuing a decree that for 30
days no one could pray to anyGod or human except Darius
himself.
In a polytheistic culturethat's what this was they kind
of have tolerance for otherpeople's beliefs.
Darius wasn't opposed to God.
(05:06):
Everyone kind of shared theirbelief system.
But in this kind of culture itwasn't unlikely that this would
happen.
But there was a moment in timewhen they are calling loyalty in
the question.
So, as John Woodward explains,the probability is that Darius
(05:29):
regarded this act as a pledge ofloyalty to himself and a token
of their desire to respect hisauthority to the utmost.
So, darius, they go to KingDarius and they say listen, we
want people to, only for thenext 30 days, to worship you, oh
great and wise king.
(05:51):
We want to show that we respectyou and that we love you, and
everyone should love you.
So Daniel, chapter 6, verses 6through 9, says so.
These administrators and satrapsone is a group of the king king
and said may King Darius liveforever.
The royal administration, theprefects, satraps, advisors and
(06:11):
government have all agreed thatthe king should issue an edict
and enforce a decree that anyonewho prays to any god or human
being for the next 30 daysexcept to you, your majesty,
they should be thrown into thelion's den.
Now, your majesty, issue thedecree and put it into writing
so that it cannot be altered Inaccordance with the law of the
(06:34):
Medes and the Persians, whichcannot be repealed.
So King Darius put the decreein writing.
I've always found thatfascinating, right?
Because the way that kings workis, once they put something
down in writing and sealed, thatwas it.
There was no coming back fromthat, and that always gets them
in trouble, like historically,always gets them in the trouble.
(06:55):
But they go to the king andthey butter him up, they speak
to his pride and they say, king,let no one worship anyone but
you.
And so here lies the question,right?
What does Daniel do in asituation like this?
(07:16):
What's he supposed to do?
You know, compromise is easy.
Compromise in the world todayis Cody and I had a conversation
earlier in the week about this.
Compromise is something thatusually happens like a little
bit at a time.
I remember in 2014, so 2015,.
(07:39):
Right before Everett was born,everett being my oldest.
If you don't know that, he'llbe 10 this year, which is crazy.
It's almost 10 years ago, rightbefore ever was born, I I was
on this like kick because Iwanted to lose weight and I got
down to like 320 I don't know ifyou know me, but 320 is a good
way for me like, I feel prettygood.
At 320, I was pretty solid.
(08:00):
I was hitting the gym.
I was, you know, getting there.
You know, some lady stopped mein the store and asked me at 29
years old if I wanted to go playfor like a city football league
, and I was like yeah.
And then I went and watched.
I was like no, no, I appreciatethat, but no, like I'm, I'm,
I'm too old, like I'm not old,but I feel like it would have
broke me Right.
But I did, I put in the workand I worked really hard to lose
(08:23):
the weight.
I got in shape.
And then Everett was born andlife got busy and so I started
compromising.
The first compromise I made isI started drinking pop again and
I would tell myself I'm onlygoing to have this one Mountain
Dew.
And then there was two and thenext thing, you know, before the
(08:43):
end of the week, I drank atwo-liter and I was like no, no,
it's fine, it's just MountainDew.
And then I started eatingdifferent again and I was like
you know, around my birthday Iwas like I want that Dairy Queen
ice cream cake and we got oneand I ate a piece, and then I
ate half of it.
Listen, I'm just saying right.
(09:04):
But?
But I started making choices andas I got further along and and
here's what I started notice Iwould weigh myself.
I was like, oh, I put on 10pounds, like I'll be fine, I can
come back from that.
And then I stopped working out.
Then I kept eating and thenlast year when I weighed weighed
myself, I weighed 450 poundsand I was like whew.
(09:27):
I was like nope, no way, I'mdead serious, I promise.
I stepped on my scale and I waslike what?
But it's because I madecompromises along the way.
I would allow little things toget into my life and before you
(09:48):
know it, all of my old habitshad come back.
I'm currently on a weight lossand I'm down 50 pounds and I
keep telling myself don't eatthe junk.
I'm not good at it, but I'mtrying.
But compromise happens and wesee it a lot of times physically
, but we see compromise happenspiritually.
Well, I didn't spend time inGod's Word today.
(10:12):
I guess I'll do it tomorrow,and then tomorrow turns into a
week and then a week turns intoa month.
Well, I didn't go to churchtoday, but that's okay, I don't
really need to.
I make it up.
Next week I was busy, and thenwe compromise, and the next week
you're busy, and then somethingelse comes up.
(10:33):
Well, I don't really need toteach my kids how to pray and
study.
They'll figure that out inschool.
Isn't that why we have Sundayschool teachers?
It's not really my place.
And then they get older and theywalk away from God and we have
no idea what happened.
We see it in our marriages.
You know, I've worked in acouple warehouses in my life and
(10:54):
I can tell you that I've workedin some places where there's
some relationships that I've hadthat to me were nothing more
than a conversation.
But I've come to realize thatsometimes being nice to someone
can be misconstrued.
There was one time when I wasworking for Abercrombie Fitch
and me and this girl her namewas Courtney and she was one of
my good friends and we worked inthe same area and someone
(11:16):
jokingly said to me one time isthat your work, wife?
And I was like no, because nowI have to go back and think what
?
No?
No, because now I have to goback and think what was I doing?
That was making people thinkthat I know that doesn't seem
like a big deal, but that's acompromise, because that
compromise can lead to otherthings.
Billy Graham is one of myfavorite people in the world
(11:37):
because he had no compromise.
He would not.
I don't know if you knew thisabout him.
He wouldn't even ride in anelevator with a woman that
wasn't his wife.
He wouldn't even ride in anelevator with a woman that
wasn't his wife.
He wouldn't go out to eat witha woman that wasn't his wife.
He wouldn't do anything with awoman that wasn't his wife alone
.
Ever and in all of his years ofministry, he never had a
scandal.
He taught his staff to do thesame thing.
(11:59):
There was no compromise, but wecompromise in our faith.
We compromise in our marriage.
We compromise in our marriage.
We compromise in the littlethings that we don't think are a
problem until we realize we'reso far down the road.
And so here, daniel has adecision to make.
It's only 30 days, right.
(12:20):
Imagine that it's only 30 daysnot praying to God, I'll be okay
, it's only 30 days giving myloyalty to King Darius.
He's a nice guy, he's a goodking, we're friends.
It's only 30 days, but Danielunderstood that compromise,
(12:43):
compromising now, compromisescharacter later.
Always the little decisions wemake come back and eventually
bite us.
Daniel was a man of character,a man of faith.
Daniel decides, knowing that hecould face death, that it
doesn't matter.
So Daniel 6, knowing that hecould face death, that it
(13:04):
doesn't matter.
So Daniel 6, chapter 10, orchapter 6, verse 10, says now,
when Daniel learned that thedecree had been published listen
, I love this because hisimmediate response says he went
home to his upstairs room wherethe windows opened toward
Jerusalem, and three times a dayhe got down on his knees and he
prayed, giving thanks to God,just as he had done before.
(13:27):
Daniel hears that if he praysto any other person besides
Darius, that he could be throwninto lion's den and the first
thing he does is he goes homeand he prays to God.
Notice, he doesn't ask God tosave him.
He gives thanks to God as hehad always done before.
(13:49):
Then these men went as a groupand they found Daniel praying
and asking God for help.
So they went to the king andspoke to him about his royal
decree.
Did you not publish a decreethat during the next 30 days,
anyone who prays to any god orhuman being except to you, your
majesty, will be thrown into thelion's den?
The king answered the decreestands in accordance with the
(14:11):
law of the Medes and thePersians, which cannot be
repealed.
Then they said to the kingDaniel, who is one of the exiles
from Judah, pays no attentionto you, your majesty, or the
decree you put in writing.
He still prays three times aday.
When the king heard this, hewas greatly distressed.
He was determined to rescueDaniel and made every effort
(14:34):
until sundown to save him.
So Darius and Daniel are friendsand Darius hears about what
happens and he realizes that hehas to stand.
He's a king right?
Listen, daniel can't compromiseor Darius can't compromise
either.
He made a decree, he wrote itdown.
It's in writing.
(14:54):
If he changes it now, they willtear his kingdom apart.
That kind of power, that kindof loyalty, is only given to
those who stand for what theybelieve.
So here you have, daniel andDarius at odds.
They have two differentloyalties.
Daniel 6 is all about loyalty.
(15:18):
Darius has to be loyal tohimself, his beliefs, who he is,
his kingdom.
Daniel only has to be loyal toGod, but Daniel's loyalty could
cost him his life.
Again, though, I mean it's just30 days.
(15:43):
Why not just compromise?
There's got to be a mediumright.
We, as a culture, we love themiddle ground.
We always want to try to findpeace and work together.
Those aren't bad things, butthere are some issues,
especially biblical issues, thatto me there's no give.
It's what God has declared,that this is how it's supposed
(16:06):
to be, but we always try tocompromise, we try to make it
work.
We manipulate Scripture, wemanipulate text.
We don't have hardconversations with family
members that we love, becausewe're hoping that maybe it will
just work out in the end,because we're hoping that maybe
it'll just work out in the end.
(16:27):
Daniel is someone who couldhave compromised.
He could have just, you know,he could have worshipped Darius
and put his fingers behind hisback and crossed his fingers
right oh, worship you, o king.
He could have faked it.
He could do gaslighting, try tomake him think he's so
wonderful and powerful, thoughover time he's over here in the
(16:48):
corner silently praying to God.
He could have compromised, butcompromising always leads to
character being compromisedAlways.
So much of Scripture is facedwith this idea that God is the
only one, that God is sovereign,that God is the only one who
(17:10):
dictates how we live, the thingswe do, the things we say.
Scripture is what it is.
There's a book that I'm readingright now and it's kind of a
fun one to read, but it's calledthe Ink is Dry and it's talking
about Scripture.
Scripture has already beenwritten.
God has already determined thisis what it is.
(17:31):
You and I don't get to come intothe Bible and say, oh well,
this doesn't fit.
No, I don't want to love mywife like God loves the church.
That doesn't make sense to me.
No, I don't want to teach mykids to keep unwholesome talk
out of their mouth.
That was written back then.
That doesn't matter.
We don't get to pick and choosewhat applies.
(17:53):
When we come to Scripture, wesay God, what here needs to
change me?
What about my life is broken?
What about me is wrong?
Am I too prideful?
Am I too arrogant?
Do I not love enough?
Do I not serve enough?
Do I not give enough?
You know it's funny this shirt.
(18:14):
I do think it's funny, buthonestly, this is probably how I
think about myself and I'm okaywith that.
I don't ever want to think I'manything more than just some guy
that loves Jesus, trying toteach other people to love Jesus
.
I don't want to be a celebrity.
I don't want to be famous.
You see that it's nuts man.
(18:35):
I know famous pastors andthat's a crazy life.
I would be content at the endof my life if God said all right
, okay as pastor, welcome home,because I want to live a life
that's so true to what God'scalling me to do that compromise
is not an option.
I want to teach other peoplewho are trying to find faith
(19:00):
that God is not calling you tocompromise.
He's calling you to change.
Standing on the truth of God isthe single greatest thing we can
do At the end of our life.
It's the only thing thatmatters anyways.
It's the only thing that'seternal, and you and I live in a
world that are constantlychallenging us and our loyalties
(19:20):
.
Who are you loyal to?
Is it yourself?
Is it a political affiliation?
Is it a celebrity?
Who are we really loyal to?
People always ask me whatmatters most to you, and my
(19:44):
first answer is always God.
My family comes next.
Yeah, my family is second toGod.
I just want to make that clear.
It's not that I don't love myfamily, not at all.
And then, after I love myfamily, I love my church.
I know Sorry, you guys are third, but here's the thing my family
(20:04):
is my first ministry.
They matter.
Teaching my kids how to followJesus and loving my wife like
Jesus loves me is the greatestthing I can do.
But ultimately my loyalty liesin the one who's calling me, the
one who has saved me, whichmeans that sometimes God calls
me to do stuff, not that it willever hurt my family, because
(20:28):
he's never done that, butsometimes we as a family make a
decision because it's the bestthing for him, even if it's not
necessarily the best thing forus.
That's a compromise that I'munwilling to waver on.
Is it inconvenient, yeah, whenyou say here I am God, sendver
on.
Is it inconvenient, yeah, whenyou say here I am God, send me?
Guess what he sends you?
(20:48):
But then my church.
I love my church, but my familyalways comes first.
There's no compromise, andDaniel is a man who has chosen
not to compromise, not even aninch.
He goes to his room and he praysDaniel, chapter 6, verse 15.
(21:12):
Then the men went as a group toKing Darius and said to him
remember your majesty, accordingto the law of the Medes and the
Persians, no decree or edict ofthe king issues can be changed.
So the king gave the order andthey brought Daniel and threw
him into the lion's den.
And the king said to Daniel Mayyour God, whom you serve,
continually rescue you.
(21:35):
A stone was brought and placedover the mouth of the den and
the king sealed it with his ownsignet ring and with the rings
of his nobles, so that Daniel'ssituation might not be changed.
And the king returned to hispalace and spent the night
without eating and without anyentertainment being brought to
him, as he could not sleep.
(21:57):
By the way, I don't know if yousee it, but I love the imagery A
stone is rolled away.
I don't know if you see it, butI love the imagery.
A stone is rolled away, rolledin front of the opening of a
cave, with a presumed dead manto come out.
If that doesn't point to Jesus,I don't know what does.
But Daniel has to face theconsequences.
(22:17):
He has to face thoseconsequences for his actions.
God didn't save him from thelion's den, so that's important,
because a lot of times when wego to God and we talk about life
and we pray about things.
If we're honest, we wouldrather God spare us from any
(22:41):
kind of problems.
We don't want any kind ofburdens.
We want to live a life whereeverything's perfect all the
time and there's no problems.
And if God can give us that,then we'll follow him.
But Daniel has that.
Even if mentality that, even ifGod for some reason doesn't
(23:03):
save me in this place, I'm goingto make sure that they know who
I stand for.
King Darius is torn apart bythis.
He liked Daniel.
He was about to lose a goodleader.
(23:25):
But his pride, his ownallegiance to himself, says
Darius didn't realize until itwas too late that the whole
situation had really been abouthim.
The decree wasn't designed tohonor the king.
It was a trap carefully craftedto eliminate Daniel, a
(23:45):
perceived threat to the powerand influence of the other
officials.
But pride has a way of bindingus, doesn't it?
After all, who doesn't want tobe admired?
He doesn't want to feel thepull to be at the center, to be
honored, to be worshipped, evenin subtle ways.
When Darius was presented withan opportunity to make himself
the sole object of prayer for 30days.
(24:07):
He didn't stop to question it.
The flattery felt good, theloyalty sounded reassuring.
The implications he didn'tconsider them.
It was too late.
That's what happens when pridecreeps in.
Pride is not just one sin amongmany.
It's the root of so many others.
It goes all the way back toeden.
(24:28):
Adam and eve didn't eat thefruit just because they were
hungry.
They wanted to be like god.
It's pride, the desire to putourselves at the center of the
story, the belief that we knowbetter, the temptation to serve
ourselves instead of submittingto the one true king.
And here, in Daniel 6, pridenearly cost Darius everything,
(24:51):
one of his greatest friends, hismost loyal and capable servant,
all because someone stoked hisego.
Just enough it should remind usthe dangers of pride.
Who are you or what are youallowing to fuel your ego
instead of feeding your soul?
Are there decisions you've madeor you're tempted to make not
(25:14):
because they honor God, butbecause they make you feel
powerful, important or incontrol?
Because here's the thing pridealways has a cost, again,
compromise.
When we are seeking ourselffirst, when we are seeking to
build our kingdom first, wecompromise.
We don't make big steps infaith.
(25:35):
We do just enough to make surethat we can say we can do this.
We don't give sacrificially,whether because of our time, our
energy or our money.
We give just enough to feellike we've accomplished and we
can say that we gave something.
But we never give until ithurts.
We don't live for God and wedon't stand on the truth of
(25:56):
God's Word, even if the rest ofthe world doesn't agree with us.
Instead, we compromise, wewater down our conversations, we
don't say the hard things, weallow people to say the wrong
things and we don't even offercorrection and listen.
There's a way to do that.
(26:18):
We talk about love and mercyand grace, but we never talk
about the fact that God is holyand that God is true, and that
God is true and that his word isforever.
We find ourselves choosing tofollow the world because it's
the easier thing to do.
We compromise and we sacrificeour character in the process.
(26:42):
This is why compromising isdangerous, because I would
venture to say that no one inthis room has ever been
threatened with death for theirbeliefs could be wrong.
But I can also tell you that Iknow a lot of missionaries that
(27:04):
I'm friends with who have.
They've been threatened to bearrested, extradited out of a
country, blacklisted.
Their children have beenthreatened, their whole lives,
their means of living have beensacrificed.
But they were unwilling tocompromise Church.
(27:29):
We have to be people that areunwilling to compromise the
truth and the word of God.
We cannot simply allow thingsto change how we feel or who we
are or the things we do, simplybecause the world doesn't
understand it.
You and I have to stand ontruth always, because compromise
(27:55):
sacrifices character.
And so Daniel comes to thismoment in his life and he says
no matter what happens to menext, I'm going to pray to God
as I'm supposed to, and theconsequence of that action is
he's dragged off, thrown into apit full of lions and a stone is
(28:19):
rolled in front.
I always wonder what that wouldbe like To literally be thrown
into a cave full of lions.
I would like to think I'mpretty big and I could probably
handle like one or two of them.
But have you ever seen themhunt?
(28:41):
They're like they're good man,they like sneak up on you.
It's like the female lions thathunt all the time.
If you ever watch a documentary, they're scary, they're fast.
When I was in Africa, I sawthem take down an elephant.
I was like, just kick it.
You're an elephant, nope, nope.
They're ferocious man, theyknow what they're doing.
(29:04):
But I can imagine that what'sDaniel thinking this is it.
This is where I die.
This is the end of my story.
He's prayed, did everything hewas supposed to.
I don't know, was he mad at GodBecause he didn't save him from
(29:25):
the lion's den?
I don't know, was he mad at Godbecause he didn't save him from
the lion's den?
But Daniel chose not tocompromise.
He didn't even know the end ofthe story.
Daniel, chapter 6, starting inverse 19, says that the first
light of dawn the king got upand hurried to the lion's den.
(29:56):
And when he came near the den,he called to Daniel in an
anguished voice and said it saysKing, live forever.
My God sent his angel and heshut the mouths of the lions.
They have not hurt me because Iwas found innocent in his sight
, nor have I ever done any wrongbefore you, your majesty.
The king was overjoyed and gaveorders to lift Daniel out of
(30:19):
the den.
And when Daniel was lifted fromthe den, no wound was found on
him because he had trusted inhis God.
And just in case you'rewondering whether or not the
lions were hungry.
At the king's command, the menwho had falsely accused Daniel
were brought in and thrown intothe lion's den along Saying this
(30:41):
is scripture, not me, but thisis what kings did.
They threw the men in withtheir wives and their children
Before they reached the floor ofthe den.
The lions overpowered them andcrushed all of their bones.
They faced the consequences forlying.
They tried to manipulate thesituation and it didn't work out
(31:04):
.
It cost them.
It cost them.
It cost them, it cost theirfamily, it cost their children
their lives.
So then King Darius wrote toall the nations and peoples of
every language and all earthsaid may you prosper greatly.
I issue a decree that in everypart of my kingdom people must
(31:24):
fear and reverence the God ofDaniel, for he is the living God
and he endures forever.
His kingdom will not bedestroyed.
His dominion will never end.
He rescues and he saves.
He performs signs and wondersin the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel from thepower of the lions.
So Daniel prospered during thereign of Darius and the reign of
(31:45):
Sirius Cyrus the Persian.
The end of that is it can behard to read, you think what did
the kids do?
What did the parents?
What did the wives do?
But those men, they lied, theymanipulated, they compromised
(32:06):
who they were.
They were so worried aboutDaniel that they did everything
they could to try to get rid ofhim.
But Daniel didn't.
Daniel stayed true to who hewas.
Daniel never compromised, evenin the face of adversity, he
(32:28):
never compromised.
So that's the question, right,what compromises do we make If
we call ourselves Christians, ifwe're living to be like Jesus?
What compromises do we make toget in the way of that?
And that's not just like aquestion for you, that's a
question for me what things inmy life have I allowed to change
(32:50):
, even a little bit?
Because I think we have to askthat question all the time,
Because I think we have to askthat question all the time.
What changes?
What things are we giving in on?
What truths are we compromising?
Talk about our marriages.
What are we doing to protectour marriages?
(33:12):
What are we doing to protectour kids?
What are we teaching them?
What are we showing them?
That's important.
I think that's the biggestquestion is, if we teach our
kids that the church isimportant and that a
relationship with God isimportant, does our life model
that?
Do they see and listen?
(33:36):
This is my prayer for my kids.
Do my kids see that God comesfirst, then my family, then my
job?
And let me tell you, as someonewho's in ministry, sometimes I
get that wrong.
Sometimes I put the churchahead of my family and I've got
to go to my wife and apologizefor that.
Sometimes I have to go andapologize to my kids for that,
(33:59):
because I want them tounderstand that they are the
most important thing to me.
They are my first and foremost,my greatest ministry, and if
they see me compromising that,it's going to change the way
they look at me.
It might even change the waythey look at the church.
I want them to see that peopleare deserving of love and grace
and mercy, but that we also haveto be people who stand for
(34:24):
truth, even when it's difficult.
The way that they live, the waythey interact, the things that
they say, that it matters.
There's something that I starteddoing recently with my kids,
and it's not my own idea, Iactually took it from someone
else.
But we go out and I ask my kidstwo questions.
My first question is who are weand the boy's like we're the
(34:44):
Kleins.
I'm like that's right, that'sour last name.
And my second question is whodo we represent?
And they say we represent God.
I'm like that's the secondquestion, because everything you
do once you leave thisconversation represents God and
represents us.
What are you showing the worldabout those things?
(35:05):
Now, they're kids.
They do dumb things, by the way, just so you know, as my kids
get older, even though I dopreach, my kids aren't perfect.
They're going to mess up.
I don't need you to tell me, Iprobably already know.
But it's important that thatquestion's in their mind because
they have to understand thechurch is important, the serving
God is important and the kindof people they are important.
(35:27):
Because every time wecompromise, we sacrifice
character, and I want my kids tobe strong in character.
I want my kids to be strong intheir faith.
I want my marriage to be strongin faith.
I want to know that at the endof my life that I compromised
nothing and somehow still gainedeverything.
(35:53):
So in a world constantlydemanding our loyalty, daniel
Stans is a powerful example ofunwavering faith.
At the day of the world, itstill calls for us to worship
many things Success, approval,comfort, power.
But the question is, how do werespond when everything else
around us whispers follow meinstead?
(36:16):
What about when the cost ishigh, when fear presses in, when
standing for God might meanrejection, loss or even death?
While many of us may not facephysical persecution where we
live, countless believersworldwide pay the ultimate price
just for staying faithful.
Their stories echo Daniel'scourage and conviction.
(36:38):
But what about us Right here,right now?
What does it look like to befaithful to the kingdom that God
has called us to build?
What does it mean to choose himabove all else in a culture
filled with distractions andcompeting loyalties?
Daniel's story teaches us thatworship isn't always about a
golden statue or loud commands.
(36:59):
It often wears subtle disguises.
Sometimes it's the pedestal weput others on.
Sometimes it's how we spend ourdays, chasing things with no
eternal value.
Sometimes it's the way weinvest our time, our energy and
our money.
These are the true reflectionsof what we worship.
(37:20):
What we worship will shape whatwe live for, and what we live
for will shape how we spend ourtime, our money and our energy.
John Piper says it this wayworship is valuing or treasuring
God above all things.
You can measure what you valuemost by how you spend your time
and your money.
God's call is clear.
(37:40):
We see this all throughout thebook of Daniel.
Worship him alone.
Daniel lived this truth, facingdeath itself.
He stood firm because he knewthe eternal nature of God and
the fleeting nature of earthlypowers.
Kings like Darius come and go,but God's kingdom lasts forever,
and it was God who deliveredDaniel from the lion's den.
(38:02):
So that's the question what areyou loyal to?
What shapes your decisions?
What shapes your priorities?
What shapes your identity?
When life gets hard, is prayeryour first response, or is it an
afterthought?
Does your daily life proclaimallegiance to God or to
(38:23):
something far less, becauseeverything else will always be
far less?
Daniel knew who he was becausehe knew who God was.
That certainly fueled hiscourage In every moment,
especially the hardest ones.
He sought God first.
Who are you serving?
Does your life, your time, yourresources reveal that loyalty?
(38:47):
The world offers many temporarythrones, but only one eternal
king.
Are you living?
Are you living?
Are we living?
Are you living?
Are we living?
Are we living with eternity inview, or have we compromised and
(39:11):
only settled for the temporary?
Let's pray.
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