We're making our way through. This is the last sermon in our series of the life of Daniel,
in Daniel chapter 6. But the next couple of weeks, we're going to still be in Daniel, kind of bringing
things together for us in Daniel chapter 7, kind of looking at the broad theme of this kingdom,
this eternal kingdom of God that kind of finds its way, kind of crystallizes and summarizes itself
for us there in Daniel chapter 7, where the Ancient of Days is entrusting the kingdom to the Son of
Man. And of course, we know who the Son of Man is, who Jesus Christ, who kind of embraced that identity
and kind of wore that for himself during the Gospels. And so we're going to see this eternal
kingdom coming to us in Daniel chapter 7. And then Bill Williamson will be able to teach through
Daniel chapter 9, kind of the prayer that's there in a couple of weeks. We want to give you one last
glimpse at the life of prayer in the person of Daniel. And it is impactful. I would encourage you,
of course, to be here. Turn with me, if you would, to Daniel chapter 6. If you're using the Pew Bible,
it's on page 743. For those of you who have not been here in our series, I want to just kind of
try to catch you up to where we are. We're in the second half of Daniel chapter 6. And the chapter
kind of starts this way, kind of moving even back to Daniel chapter 5, verse 30 and 31. It says,
that very night, Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom,
being about 62 years old. Now verse 1 of chapter 6. It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120
set traps to be throughout the whole kingdom. Now this theme that we're going to pick up again
next week is to kind of trace these subsequent kingdoms, the rise and the fall of empires, this
Babylonian empire, Babylonian kingdom, and now the rise of this Persian kingdom.
Kingdoms will come and go. Kings will come and go. But what we're going to see and what we have seen
in Daniel chapter 6 is that God's kingdom remains. It's God who is instrumental in raising up kings
and putting kings down. And it's God's servant, Daniel, who remains steady. This fixture of constant,
this constant fixture that has been since the beginning of Daniel and we'll now, we'll see in Daniel chapter 6,
as a testimony to the enduring quality of God's kingdom. Daniel will be promoted again. As we saw last week,
he's now the chief official over all of the officials over the entire kingdom of Media Persia.
We saw that while he was a gifted individual, it wasn't because of his networking ability.
It wasn't because of his LinkedIn account, pulling the right strings, positioning himself in the right way,
jockeying for position, kind of edging people out because of his skill and authority and his ability
to position himself. What Daniel does so consistently is he devotes himself to God.
The thing that has amazed me and has been an encouragement to me throughout the testimony of this book
is the absolute commitment of Daniel to trust in God regardless of the shake-up and uncertainty of situations.
Daniel was steady. Daniel was fixed. Daniel was devoted.
His character. We see the testimony of his character even last week, but then pushing into chapter 5,
where we find in verse 11 of chapter 5, the spirit of the gods was in him.
He is light and understanding like the wisdom of the gods.
Then in verse 12, an excellent spirit was in him.
Then again in chapter 6, we find in chapter 6 verse 3,
He was distinguished from the others. Why?
Well, because an excellent spirit was in him.
And when the other officials who were jockeying for position,
trying to find a way to ruin Daniel,
they go on this examination process and they, what do they find in verse 4?
They could find no ground for complaint or any fault because he was faithful.
No error or fault was found in him.
We come to understand that it's God who continues to promote Daniel to his position.
It's God who puts kings down.
It's God who raises his servants up.
It's God who keeps putting and pushing Daniel into the forefront.
It's what we find in 1 Peter chapter 5.
It's the way in which God works with his servants.
Beginning in verse 5, it says,
Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility towards one another.
For God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
So humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God,
so that at the proper time he may exalt you.
We saw last week, and we'll see this again this morning,
that it was Daniel's humility and Daniel's faithfulness that positioned him for usefulness.
You see, God delights in using humble, faithful servants.
And God understands that his humble, faithful servants are useful.
They're useful to wait for God's timing.
They're useful to point to who God is, not to draw attention to themselves.
And that's what's happening through this entire book of the life of Daniel,
that Daniel keeps showcasing and spotlighting the work of God in his life,
not drawing attention to himself.
But this, of course, makes all of the officials in this new kingdom really upset.
Why does this foreigner keep getting pushed to the forefront?
Why is this exile from Judea in charge of everything?
So these officials concoct a plan.
They devised this plan of, after putting Daniel's life under the microscope,
they're unable to find anything to ruin him.
Instead, what they need to do is they need to use his faithfulness against him.
They essentially weaponize Daniel's faith and devotion to God
and seek to use that as an instrument to destroy him.
They've come up with this plan.
They're going to invite and pray on the pride and the seeming logic of King Darius
and convince him that he needs to kind of pull in the loyalties of his kingdom
and have all of those subjects in his kingdom pray to him.
So the king agrees.
He signs this decree.
And without realizing it, he signs Daniel's fate.
The consequence of which was to cast Daniel into the lion's den,
which we'll look at in more detail this morning.
Daniel hears this decree and immediately goes to his house.
He immediately goes up to his roof.
He opens the window of his lattice.
He directs his focus to Jerusalem, to where the temple would have been,
where the God of Israel and his presence was most fully realized.
And he prays to the God of Israel.
Of course, he's caught in the act, as it were,
and the accusation is brought before the king.
And the king, in anguish, labors to deliver Daniel.
Deliverance will be our key theme, our key word throughout this passage.
We're going to see this on several occasions.
And just at the beginning of the onset of this study,
just underline for me the words that we find in this section,
beginning in verse 14, this word deliver.
In verse 14 it says,
And the king set his heart to deliver Daniel.
That's our word.
Then in verse 16,
Then the king declared to Daniel,
May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you.
Then in verse 20,
The king declared to Daniel,
O Daniel, servant of the living God,
has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you?
Then finally in verse 27,
Speaking of God,
For he delivers and rescues.
He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth.
He who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.
Spoiler alert,
God saves Daniel from the lion's den.
But why?
Why would God put Daniel through the paces, as it were?
Why would God introduce this trial, this trouble, to Daniel's life?
What the enemies of Daniel sought to do to ruin Daniel,
becomes an instrument of God to push God forward as the one who can deliver.
In other words, God uses Daniel's trials to draw attention to God's triumph.
God uses Daniel's trials to draw attention to God's triumph.
What is God using in your life this morning?
What trials, what troubles, what difficulties, what pains are you working through,
even in this moment?
What challenges are you experiencing in the here and now?
Recognize that God wants to use those challenges, those trials, those tribulations,
so that you can show and draw attention to God's power.
God wants you to maximize your trials to draw attention to God's triumph.
That's what God does through trials.
And by the way, it is a joy for us.
It should be a joy for us in the midst of those trials to recognize it as an opportunity
and say, oh God, please help me to be faithful with this trial to draw attention to you.
And that's exactly what Daniel does.
Daniel faithfully devotes himself to God in and through this passage
and in and through this book of Daniel.
There seems to be this steady heart that is so at ease and at rest in understanding
that God is in control of all the circumstances of life in time, in time, in time again.
God uses those trials to draw attention to his triumph.
And God wants to do the same for you.
God wants to do and accomplish the same purposes for his people today.
God wants to do the same for you.
There's a famous pastor from the 1800s.
His name is D.L. Moody.
And D.L. Moody got on board of this ship in London and he was on his way to New York.
And at some point along the way, the drive shaft of this ship broke
and it created a hole in the hull of the ship.
So the ship begins to sink.
And D.L. Moody describes this experience in this way when he says,
The officers and crew did all they could to save the vessel,
but it was soon found that the pumps were useless,
for the water poured into the ship too rapidly to be controlled.
There was nothing more in the power of man to do,
and the ship was absolutely helpless.
While the passengers could only stand still on the poor, drifting, sinking ship
and look into our possible watery graves.
It, of course, was a desperate situation.
After several more days, the ship continued to experience increasing damage.
And D.L. Moody entered in what he called the darkest hour of his life.
He describes it this way when he says,
I could not endure it.
And imagine yourself in this situation.
I must have relief, he says.
And relief came in prayer.
God heard my cry and enabled me to say,
From the depths of my soul,
Thy will be done.
Sweet peace came to my heart.
Let it be north field or heaven, he said.
It made no difference now.
I went to bed.
I fell asleep almost immediately
and never slept more soundly in all my life.
Of course, God also rescued D.L. Moody
and being able to bring him back to shore.
But there was rescue, real rescue,
that happened in the moment before physical rescue ever came.
It was rescue of understanding that God was sovereign,
even in the trial.
God wants to accomplish the same for us.
God wants us to recognize there is deliverance that can come.
Sometimes that deliverance comes from those trials.
Sometimes that deliverance happens through those trials.
Do we believe that in every situation that God is introducing into our life,
that God intends to maximize those trials for the purpose of drawing attention to him
and through us to call attention to a God who saves,
a God who delivers.
So if you're not there with me already,
turn to Daniel chapter 6.
We're going to be picking the story up in verse 14.
And we're going to see this contrast that will happen.
The power of men versus the power of God.
And it has been this picture that has been at the front of our story,
the front of this narrative from Daniel chapter 1 to Daniel chapter 6,
from the very beginning.
Who is really the one who's in power?
Who's really the supreme authority?
Our first point this morning is the power of man will fail.
The power of man will fail.
Make sure that when you're trusting in power,
you trust in the power of God, not the power of man,
because the power of man will fail.
Notice verse 14.
Then the king, when he heard these words,
and by the way, the words were that Daniel has just been praying,
not to you, but to his God.
And so he hears these words,
and he was much distressed.
He set his mind to deliver Daniel.
And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him.
Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king,
Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and the Persians,
that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.
The power of man will fail.
And here we find the king's desperate attempt to deliver Daniel.
The king is desperate to deliver Daniel.
We find these words.
He's much distressed.
There was some level of commitment,
some level of partnership,
some level of investment and allegiance,
even before, even between these two men,
some relationship that these two guys had,
and a dependence that Darius had on Daniel.
And he understood how significant this would be.
So he was much distressed.
And it says he labored,
which literally means he set his heart.
I think our translation says he set his mind.
He was emotionally involved.
This word deliver, of course,
will become a key word for us in the remaining parts of this chapter.
And this would have been a whirlwind day for Darius.
Sometime in the morning,
he is signing this decree.
He's thinking he's going to be able to put
all of his kingdom back together
and establish loyalty and allegiance.
All the while,
his officials were actually gunning to manipulate him.
Daniel would go,
and he would go home to pray.
He's caught.
And now,
Darius' number one official
is going to go to the lion's den.
And so the king is trying to fix the mess
that he's created.
He's frustrated.
He's emotional.
He's desperate.
No doubt he throws every resource of his power
into the mix
to undo this situation that he's created for himself.
Darius, king of Babylon,
now comes face to face with the restriction of his power.
He comes face to face with the boundaries of his authority.
He comes to a place of recognizing
how desperate he is
to actually bring any deliverance to Daniel.
In verse 16,
we find the king's desperate hope for deliverance.
His desperate hope for deliverance.
Notice,
Then the king commanded,
and Daniel was brought and cast into the lion's den.
And the king declared to Daniel,
May your God,
whom you serve continually,
deliver you.
This word for den is the word for pit.
It's another use of the word for a cistern or to dig.
It's similar to the word that was used
for the brothers of Joseph
when they threw him into the pit.
It's a similar word for us,
the difference between the Hebrew and the Aramaic.
Accounts of the Persians executing their victims
in such a manner is recorded in history.
And while the descriptions of the den
aren't given to us in detail here in Daniel,
we do find in archaeology
in parts of the world in that day
that these lion's dens
would have been like large caverns.
In our family,
when we visited Idaho,
we went to some natural caverns
that were created.
This would have been like a large square cavern
under the earth.
It would have had like a partition in the wall.
This particular one that was found in Morocco
had a partition in the wall
so that the lions could move
from one side to the other
and you could kind of close things off
and access the one side and clean it
while the lions were in the other side.
Then it would have a hole in the top.
You could kind of peer down
and watch the activities
that were taking place below,
making sure the execution was going
according to plan.
The lions and everyone would come
into the opening of this cave
and there would be a rock
that would be over the mouth
of that opening.
Probably similar to what we find here
in our passage.
This was a cistern that is filled with lions.
They would intentionally starve these lions
so the victims would be unable to escape.
So these are not a few sleepy,
lethargic old lions that we're talking about
as some skeptics have assumed.
But we get a sense of the size
and the strength
and the sheer power of these lions
when we look at verse 24.
It says,
This is the same den,
the same group of lions,
the same power that was represented here
in verse 24
is the same power that was available
earlier in the chapter.
Darius, of course, is concerned.
He has a reason to be concerned.
And God has used this situation
to call attention
to God's wonder-working power.
The miraculous display of God's power
is now brought out into the open.
Darius is forced to recognize
the limitations of his power.
He's been confronted with the limitations
of his wisdom and his foresight.
He has been forced to see
how prone he is to manipulation.
And he knows that everything right now
is totally out of his control.
So Darius offers some semblance
and what I find intriguing about this
is that Darius will offer
a semblance of a prayer in hope,
this prayer of desperation,
this long-shot prayer as it were,
because every other option is expended.
What I find fascinating
is that in this 30-day window
where all petitions and prayers
were to come to Darius,
now what we kind of see here
is that now Darius
is kind of offering a prayer
to Daniel's God
through the mediation of Daniel
where he says,
may your God,
whom you serve continually,
deliver you.
It's a mighty prayer
full of theology.
I broke this down
just in a few pieces
to briefly walk you through
how powerful this prayer is.
He begins with,
your God.
These words in the Aramaic
are in construct relationship
and basically all that means
is two words in the English
that are joined together
and become one word
in the Aramaic.
Your God.
Darius observed
the inseparable nature,
inseparable quality
of Daniel's relationship with God.
Your God belongs to you, Daniel.
and you belong to your God.
This inseparable quality
of this relationship
that is so personal,
that is so marked
by affection.
Daniel's affection for God
and God's affection for him
so that Darius even comes
to describe God in these terms.
He's not just the God of heaven.
He's not just the most high God.
He's not just the God of Israel.
He's your God.
The identity that is so intertwined
and interlaced
with Daniel himself,
the servant,
describing the love of God
for Daniel.
Then he says,
whom you serve.
And again,
this is a word
that is in a construct relationship.
It describes this intensive,
continual pattern of service
that Daniel has for God.
This continual expression
of his life.
It is this ever-present reality
for him.
You get this sense
that nothing drives Daniel
quite like his service
to his God.
Let's not forget
that here in the book of Daniel
and also throughout
the Old Testament,
we find that service
and worship
go hand in hand.
These terms are synonymous.
We saw this back
in Daniel chapter 3
in verse 12
where the accusers
will say of Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego,
they say,
they do not serve
your gods
or worship
the golden image
that you have set up.
And then Nebuchadnezzar
in verse 14
will say,
is it true
that you do not serve
my gods
or worship
the golden image
that I have set up?
And then in verse 18,
Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego
will reply,
be it known to you,
O king,
that we will not serve
your gods
or worship
the golden image
that you have set up.
Darius understood
the underlying reason
for Daniel's disobedience.
Darius has come
to understand
that Daniel
is a man
who is committed
to one objective
and that is
service of God.
This was not about
defiance
to a decree.
This was not about
disloyalty
to the king.
This was about
allegiance
to the God of Israel,
to Daniel's God,
serving him,
worshiping him.
Daniel's service
and devotion
and worship
were undivided.
They were uncompromised.
They were unbroken,
unwavering,
and undeterred.
His service
and worship
were continual
and faithful
and consistent.
Then he ends with,
may this God
deliver you.
Deliver you.
Another construct
relationship
where the verb
deliver
is joined together
with a pronoun
you.
Attached
to convey
the idea
that God's power
was inseparable
with God's servant.
Where he begins
with your God.
God's relationship,
God's identity
was intertwined
with his servant
Daniel
and now
the affection
that God has
for Daniel
is met
with the power
of God
that's going to be
working out
in Daniel
so that
in Darius' mind
God's character
was bound
to the deliverance
that God
would provide
to Daniel
in the lion's den.
It was a mighty
prayer
of desperation.
but it was a prayer
of sincerity.
It wasn't a prayer
of sincerity
excuse me
because Darius
didn't know
God's power.
Darius didn't have
this relationship
with God
which now turns
to verse 17
the king's
desperate night
of waiting.
The king's
desperate night
of waiting.
It says
in a stone
was brought
and laid
on the mouth
of the den
the king
sealed it
with his own
signet
and with the
signet of his
lords
that nothing
might be changed
concerning Daniel.
Then the king
went to his palace
and spent the night
fasting.
No diversions
were brought to him
and sleep
fled from him.
Then at the break
of day
the king arose
and went in haste
to the den of lions
and he came near
to the den
where Daniel was.
He cried out
in a tone
of anguish
the king declared
to Daniel
O Daniel
servant of the
living God
has your God
whom you serve
continually
been able
to deliver you
from the lions?
The king's
desperate night
of waiting
Darius goes back
to the palace
and by the way
all of this
I believe
is by design
where God
is putting Darius
in a situation
where he's helpless
where he's come
to the end
of himself
and now
Darius
is hoping
beyond hope
perhaps
just maybe
God will
help to deliver
his servant
Daniel.
All of this
was by design.
God
bringing
and emphasizing
the king's
futility
and drawing
attention
to God's
sufficiency.
This has been
a whirlwind day.
Started with
Darius feeling
at the top
of the world
and now
has ended
with Darius
understanding
his desperate
need
for God
himself.
Now we're
back in the
palace
and one thing
on Darius'
mind
something in
his heart
believes
that maybe
just maybe
God
will save
Daniel.
Perhaps
it was the
strength of
Daniel's
conviction.
Perhaps it was
the record
of Daniel's
God
or the writing
on the wall
and testimony
of Daniel
being able
to deliver
and interpret
the words
that were
written on
the wall.
Maybe it was
the public
record of
the fiery
furnace
or maybe
the public
proclamation
from Nebuchadnezzar
himself at the
end of Daniel
chapter 4.
Whatever it
was,
Darius'
response
indicates
that there
is this
flicker
of hope
that maybe
God
will be
able
to save.
But as
the hours
go by,
the urgency
of the situation
is intensified.
Darius
spends the
night fasting
which is a
way to
represent his
heart of sorrow,
his heart of
grief,
his heart of
urgency.
He puts
away his
food,
he puts
away his
entertainment,
he's unable
to sleep.
And then
at the
earliest
possible
moment,
what we
find here
in the
text,
at the
break of
day,
at the
instant
the law
has been
fulfilled,
this 62
year old
man is
jetting across
the palace,
he's running
across the
city,
he's going
out to that
den,
he's got
to know
for himself,
is Daniel
okay?
He calls
out in a
tone of
anguish
and notice,
oh Daniel,
servant of
the living
God,
has your
God,
whom you
serve
continually,
been able
to deliver
you from
the lions?
This
identity of
the living
God that
he expresses
here is
really uncommon
in the Old
Testament,
but it's
used twice
here in
Daniel chapter
6.
It's often
associated in
the Old
Testament,
as few
of the
times it's
used,
it's often
associated
with God's
delivering
power over
the nations.
Nebuchadnezzar
will use a
similar concept
in Daniel
chapter 4
verse 34
when he
says,
I bless
the Most
High and
praise and
honor him
who lives
forever.
You see,
God was a
living God,
not like
the dead,
lifeless
gods of
Babylon or
Persia.
It expresses
this quality
and nature
of God,
his presence,
his activity,
his involvement
in the affairs
of men,
his engagement
in the world
and active
in the lives
of his
servants.
Both
Nebuchadnezzar
and Darius
come to
understand
this identity
of God
as being
powerful,
accessible
and present.
But now
we contrast
the futility,
the failure
of man's
power.
Man's
power will
fail but
God's power
will flourish.
That's what
we find
in verses
21 to
28.
The power
of God
will flourish.
Put your
hope in
the power
of God.
Notice
in verse
21,
Then Daniel
said to the
king,
O king,
live forever.
my God
has sent
his angel
and shut
the lions'
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.
God
sends
his angel
to deliver
Daniel.
God
sends
his messenger.
God
sends
his power.
God
sends
his presence,
his very
presence
to help
Daniel.
God
delivers.
He's a
God who
is not
distant.
He's a
God who's
not removed.
He's a
God who
is not
apathetic
or
uncaring.
He's a
God who
is present.
He's a
God who
answers.
He's a
God who
is imminently
He's a
God who
is available
to his
people.
And God
helps
Daniel.
Why?
Well,
Daniel says
here,
because I
was found
blameless.
I was found
blameless.
And because
I have
done
no harm.
Daniel's
commitment
to God
just
continued
to shine
through his
life.
And Daniel
somehow
understood
that in
the providence
of God,
he was using
this very
situation
to draw
attention
to God's
power
and to
use
the lion's
den
as a
gospel
catalyst
for this
king,
for this
heathen
king.
Somehow
Daniel
understood
at the
very
beginning
what
God
was
about
to
accomplish.
I
was
faithful.
I
was
blameless.
And
I
have
done
no
harm.
This
word
I've
done
no
harm
should
sound
a bit
familiar
because
if we
remember
at the
very
beginning
of this
chapter
when the
satraps
and officials
were put
together
they were
put together
for the
purpose
of so
that
we find
in
verse 2
Daniel
had
faithfully
served
his
God
and
that
translated
into
faithfully
serving
this
king.
And I
trust
for those
of us
who are
doing
our
service
as to
the
Lord
wherever
you are
that your
service
is to
God
and
what
that
entails
or what
that
means
is that
it's
also
helping
to
promote
and
encourage
and
advance
the
company
that
you're
in
and
the
managers
that
you
work
for
the
two
are
not
incompatible
in this
event
Daniel
knew
that
his
life
would
be
preserved
because
he
understood
what
God
meant
to
accomplish
through
it
of
course
throughout
history
not
all
people
who
are
blameless
are
preserved
in
this
way
we
can
just
look
to
the
example
of
Christ
who
through
the
divine
appointment
of
God
was
put
to
death
on
the
cross
and
was
raised
the
third
day
we
know
the
testimony
of
the
apostle
Paul
who
at
the
very
end
of
his
life
his
head
was
taken
off
and
throughout
the
course
of
his
life
the
suffering
that
he
experienced
at
the
hands
of
wicked
men
we
know
that
Peter
the
apostle
Peter
the
tradition
is
that
he
was
also
crucified
upside
down
for
the
sake
of
his
confession
of
Christ
and
then
the
martyrs
throughout
history
we
know
that
blameless
people
do not
are not
always
preserved
from
hard
things
but
we
do
know
that
God
will
deliver
them
through
those
hard
things
as
the
song
that
we
sang
I
think
it
was
one
of
the
one
last
two
songs
that
we
all
await
and
anticipate
those
of
us
who
are
in
Christ
Jesus
wait
for
the
ultimate
deliverance
from
this
life
to
be
captured
into
glory
to
be
with
our
Savior
that's
the
real
deliverance
that
all
of
us
are
looking
forward
to
be
reunited
with
Christ
and
Daniel
proved
Daniel
proved
that
God's
promise
to
Abraham
was
true
where
God
says
I
will
bless
those
who
bless
you
and
curse
those
who
curse
you
in
you
all
the
nations
will
be
blessed
and
that
leads
us
to
our
final
point
that
God
uses
Darius
to
vindicate
Daniel
he
used
Darius
to
vindicate
Daniel
notice
verse
23
then
the
king
was
exceedingly
glad
he
commanded
that
Daniel
be
taken
up
out
of
the
den
so
Daniel
was
taken
up
out
of
the
den
and
no
kind
of
harm
was
found
on
him
because
he
had
trusted
in
his
God
and
the
king
commanded
and
those
men
who
had
maliciously
accused
Daniel
were
brought
and
cast
into
the
den
of
lions
they
their
children
and
their
wives
and
before
they
reached
the
bottom
of
the
den
the
lions
overpowered
them
and
broke
all
their
bones
in
pieces
do
we
trust
in
God
to
bring
about
proper
vindication
or
are
we
working
the
system
to
get
what
we
deserve
are
we
using
the
tit
for
tat
are
we
are
we
using
the
eye
for
an
eye
a
tooth
for
a
tooth
are
we
trying
to
find
ways
to
get
even
as
it
were
or
are
we
trusting
in
God
to
purchase
and to
bring
about
the
vindication
that we
feel
like
we
deserve
are
we
those
who
like
Christ
are
willing
to
say
Father
forgive
them
for
they
know
not
what
they
do
are
the
exhortations
from
Jesus
on
the
sermon
on
the
mount
that
says
love
your
enemies
do
good
to
those
who
persecute
you
pray
for
those
who
despitefully
use
you
and
then
entrusting
ourselves
to
God
who
promises
that
vengeance
is
mine
I
will
repay
says
the
Lord
is
there
the
kind
of
confidence
in
our
heart
that
says
God
whatever
you
bring
about
in
the
situation
if
it
means
more
challenges
and
trouble
for
me
and
opportunities
to
shine
your
triumph
through
the
situation
and
I'm
going
to
trust
you
to
deal
with
those
individuals
who
are
bringing
harm
to
me
because
I
believe
that
you
are
the
God
who
is
over
all
vengeance
belongs
to
you
will
repay
says
the
Lord
and
God
faithfully
does
that
through
Darius
invindicating
Daniel
finally
we find
in verse
25 to
28
that
God
uses
Gentiles
to
exalt
his
name
God
uses
Gentiles
to
exalt
his
name
this
is
astounding
here we
are
in
Babylon
now
in
the
city
of
Babylon
now
the
empire
of
media
Persia
that
the
reason
why
Daniel
and
his
buddies
are
in
this
place
to
begin
with
is
because
of
the
rebellion
and
wickedness
of
their
forefathers
and
the
condemnation
of
the
judgment
of
God
the
discipline
of
God
to
bring
them
here
into
exile
and
God
has
used
that
instrumentally
as a
conduit
for the
gospel
to the
Gentiles
and now
it's a
Gentile
who will
be a
light
to the
other
Gentiles
check
this
out
verse
25
then
king
Darius
wrote
to
all
the
peoples
nations
and
languages
that
dwell
in
all
the
earth
peace
be
multiplied
to
you
I
make
a
decree
that
in
all
my
royal
dominion
people
are
to
tremble
and
fear
before
the
God
of
Daniel
for
he
is
the
living
God
enduring
forever
his
kingdom
shall
never
be
destroyed
his
dominion
shall
be
to
the
end
he
delivers
and
rescues
he
works
signs
and
wonders
in
heaven
and
on
earth
he
who
has
saved
Daniel
from
the
power
of
the
lions
so
this
Daniel
prospered
during
the
reign
of
Darius
and
the
reign
of
Cyrus
the
Persian
here
is
this
doxology
of
this
Persian
king
that
is
so
much
like
what
Nebuchadnezzar
will
say
in
chapter
4
it's
a
to
make
his
glory
known
to
peoples
who
would
otherwise
not
know
him
it
all
leaves
us
with
this
final
question
and
that
is
do
you
know
the
savior
do
you
know
the
God
who
delivers
have
you
experienced
that
for
yourself
that
delivering
power
and
the
ultimate
delivering
power
that
God
gives
over
our
sin
over
our
future
judgment
over
the
condemnation
that
we
deserve
the
discipline
that
we
deserve
because
the
wages
of
sin
is
death
but
the
gift
of
God
is
eternal
life
through
Jesus
Christ
our
Lord
Jesus
who
paid
the
price
for
our
sins
on
the
cross
Jesus
who
died
and
rose
again
so
that
we
could
have
our
sins
paid
for
the
punishment
absolved
through
faith
in
Christ
have
you
come
to
a
place
of
believing
that
Jesus
is
the
only
way
to
God
by
confessing
your
sin
by
asking
for
repentance
by
turning
your
heart
and
bowing
your
knee
to
the
king
Jesus
and
making
him
the
lord
of
your
life
essentially
saying
God
you
call
the
shots
in
my
life
and
I
want
my
life
like
Daniel
to
demonstrate
humility
to
you
and
faithfulness
so
that
you
can
make
me
useful
I
trust
if
there's
anyone
here
this
morning
that
does
not
know
Jesus
as
their
savior
this
might
be
the
moment
that
the
invitation
is
open
the
offer
is
available
all
you
need
to
do
is
acknowledge
that
God
alone
can
save
it's
not
based
upon
your
works
it's
not
based
upon
your
performance
praise
the
lord
it's
not
based
upon
the
checks
and
balances
of
your
life
that
all
seem
to
go
well
on
the
tally
sheet
because
we
know
that
all
have
sinned
and
fallen
short
of
the
glory
of
God
we've
all
missed
the
mark
as
it
were
but
only
Jesus
has
lived
a
perfect
life
and
has
been
able
to
meet
the
standard
that
you
and
I
could
never
meet
and
so
he
paid
the
price
so
that
we
could
enjoy
forgiveness
that
comes
only
through
faith
in
Jesus
I
trust
our
faith
in
God
that
God
is
helping
us
like
Daniel
to
not
to
see
our
trials
as
something
to
pray
away
but
seeing
our
trials
as
opportunities
to
spotlight
and
showcase
the
triumph
of
God
the
delivering
power
of
God
in
that
situation
oh
may
God
help
us
to
do
that
faithfully
Lord
thank
you
for
the
life
of
Daniel
for
his
example
for
his
testimony
Father
I
pray
that
we
would
follow
after
Daniel's
example
especially
that we
would
seek
to be
humble
that we
would
seek
to be
faithful
that we
would
capitalize
on the
moments
of
trouble
to
draw
attention
to
your
triumph
help
us
to
be
faithful
we
pray
in
Jesus
name
amen
God
bless
you
have
a
great
week
miracle