Difference Makers: Through Consistency By Senior Pastor Tom Harrison September 24, 2017 Part 3 of 3, summer focus: We help others follow Jesus when we worship, grow and influence. Difference Makers: Having a positive influence in challenging situations. Journal Intro: God is faithful to us. Consistency, reliability, dependability, steadiness, evenness, and regularity may not be the flashiest personality types, but people who display loyalty, fidelity, devotion, allegiance, trustworthiness, and faithfulness are the best friends, companions and leaders. Daniel must have been the first Methodist! Daniel 6:10 says, just as he had done before. He was methodically a man of prayer a model of consistency. We see this at the core of Jesus life, too. It seemed He was always trying to withdraw to pray. Jesus prayer life is one of the most consistent aspects of His personality in the Gospels. Consistency in prayer leads to an influential life. Failure to pray is a great risk. We re concluding our 6-week study of the Book of Daniel. It s been a terrific study for me, personally. Here s a quick recap. Chapter 1 TEEN EXILE (Veggies) RESOLVE Daniel was a teenager taken from Jerusalem to Babylon. Chapter 2 DREAM (Neb) - INTEPRETATION Daniel was a young man who interpreted the king s dream. Chapter 3 Fiery furnace CONFIDENCE Daniel had 3 faith companions who remained faithful Chapter 4 Dream Int. (#2 Neb) CONFLICT Daniel was older who interpreted the king s dream, again. Chapter 5 Handwriting on wall REPUTATION Daniel pronounced judgment on King Belshazzar
Chapter 6-Top 10 Bible Hits CONSISTENCY Daniel is probably 85. He visits the Lion s Den. A top 10 Bible Hit story comes from Daniel when he was thrown into the lion s den. Many believe this nice, moral, children s story is fiction, as everyone knows these things can t happen. People thrown into lion s dens are eaten. Our response to this story reveals our worldview. One worldview is the belief that we live in a closed universe we only have science and technology and there is no God who can respond to people. My worldview isn t really about whether or not a lion refused to eat Daniel, it s far more about Genesis 1:1. If God created the heavens + earth, then why can t God do anything He wants? Why can t God create a big fish to swallow a racist, bigoted prophet and spit him up? Why can t God send fire down from heaven to consume a sacrifice? Why can t God raise a dead man from the grave and give us eternal life with Him in heaven? If there really is a God who created all of this vast universe and all of these galaxies, then nothing is too small for him. This miracle is completely insignificant in comparison. On Oct. 15 I will go into this in more depth as I quote the words of John Wesley: I am a man of one book. Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, believed in the authority of the Bible. If we do not believe that it is God s word, we are left to believe whatever we want. We completely determine our own spiritual reality. That is a slippery slope for at some point we ll be confronted by what we do with the resurrection of Jesus. BTW, I might add, we ve started a new class on Apologetics on Tuesdays night at 6:30. We had about 70 people attend last week. One person told me how great a class it was. Go to asburytulsa.org under Adults and Mid-week classes and you ll find Apologetics. This could be a significant class for you! In the 5 previous chapters of Daniel, we ve seen the broad sweep of his life. We recall his being taken as a very young man from his royal family in Jerusalem ( the Exile ). His parents trained him to follow a life in God and he did so when he was asked to eat food he felt would violate his conscience. We saw him as a young man interpreting the King of World,
Nebuchadnezzar, and his dream. We saw him later as a middle-aged man confronting another King (Belshazzar) and telling him that bad things were going to happen. Now, he s an old man. He was a statesman and well respected. But all throughout his life, he was a record of consistent, firm, unflinching follower of God. In Chapter 6, Daniel s sterling reputation leads to his appointment to be a key government leader. He was so exceptional and distinguished that he will be made the #1 guy over the whole kingdom. What sounds wonderful had a big downside his promotion created enemies. This appears to have been a large group of people, not just a few. I imagine 2 things were at play: they were jealous of Daniel and resented his honesty. He wouldn t permit corruption. So, the 120 satraps and the other 2 administrators hatched a devious plot to trap Daniel. This conspiracy wasn t to take out the King, but his #1 guy. They got the King to sign what he thought was an innocent proclamation everyone had to pray to King Darius over the next 30 days or be tossed into the lion s den. Lions were kept in dens in Babylon so they could be used with festivities. Whereas the Babylonians preferred to execute people by throwing them into the fire (Shadrach, etc.), the Persians liked to toss them to wild and savage beasts. Since Daniel had such personal integrity and they couldn t get him on character charges, they d trap him via his Jewish faith. The King doesn t perceive what s going on until it s too late. The Law of the Medes and Persians meant that once passed, the law could never be rescinded. Daniel 6:1-9 It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, 2 with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. (people were prone to lie and steal) 3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him,
because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt ( power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely ) nor negligent. 5 Finally these men said, "We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God." 6 So the administrators and the satraps went as a group to the king and said: "O King Darius, live forever! 7 The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions' den.(darius got suckered into this. He didn t believe he was a god, but he let his guard down only for 30 days. He later sees the consequences of his actions, but he just got caught up with the flattery. 8 Now, O king, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed." 9 So King Darius put the decree in writing. Daniel s been at this a long time. He s probably about 85 years old and been in pagan Babylon for about 70 years. Considering his background, he has done extraordinarily well. What does Daniel have to show for his years in Babylon? His enemies are conspiring to have him killed. Babylon is still very pagan. There s been no revival in Babylon like there was with Jonah and Nineveh. It doesn t appear that he s made much spiritual difference at all. Furthermore, when King Cyrus gives the Jewish people the opportunity to return to Jerusalem, most preferred the comfort of Babylon to returning to the brokenness of Jerusalem. Who would want to live in a city w/o walls? 6:10-16 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, Daniel has to decide place his faith/loyalty with God or king; his calling or career, his faith or his flag. Regardless of the lions, that choice may confront us, too. he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened (He would rather die than not pray. He s visible and everyone knows his habit) toward Jerusalem (he lives in Babylon, but he s not a Babylonian. Babylon hasn t seduced his heart. These 2 cities are contrasted in Revelation). Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God: in spite of the decree, he begins
with thanksgiving, just as he had done before. Daniel had so many great qualities: His impeccable character, his courage, his faithfulness, his humility (he never brags about himself) and his childlike faith, but undoubtedly, his constancy in prayer seems to have been the key to his success! He didn t just discover prayer in the midst of his crisis, his deep faith came with consistently walking with God for his whole life. This WAS his life. Now the king, who had been duped, has passed an irrevocable law forbidding him to pray. It was a no-brainer for Daniel. Being eaten by lions was better than compromising his faith. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12 So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: "Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or man except to you, O king, would be thrown into the lions' den?" The king answered, "The decree stands in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed." 13 Then they said to the king, "Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah (this may have been a 3 rd reason, in addition to envy and greed, that they wanted him gone), pays no attention to you, O king, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day." 14 When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him. There has been a theme in Daniel that these kings are all very insecure. This king who let people pray to him for 30 days was a very limited and weak god. He could not overcome the law of the land. Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar were quite weak and limited, too. In the New Testament, King Herod had power to deliver John the Baptist to the executioner, but no power to save him from the result of his rash vow. Pilate seemed to have no power to save Jesus from his malicious enemies and couldn t deliver Him from the cross. These pseudo-kings are exposed. Only the true God, not Darius, could save Daniel. 15 Then the men went as a group to the king and said to him, "Remember, O king, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed." 16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!"
Daniel 6:17-28 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed. Rolling the stone over the lion s den reminds us of the tomb where Jesus was laid a stone was rolled over it, too. That s why the early church saw this as a foretaste of the resurrection. 18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep. The all-powerful King Darius is so upset by this that he can t eat or sleep. 19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den. 20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?" 21 Daniel answered, "O king, live forever! 22 My God (Daniel credits God for his deliverance and defends himself - curious that he didn t do that before) sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king." 23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24 At the king's command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions' den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones. The conspirators, like Haman who tried to kill Mordecai in the Book of Esther, met their demise. 25 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land: "May you prosper greatly! 26 "I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel." For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. 27 He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions." 28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Observation *Consistency is about daily and often small things. We build muscle over time. We don t turn from a couch potato into a marathoner with one training session. *Consistency is not necessarily positive. Some are consistently late, consistent gossips, some consistently overspend or overeat, some are consistently judgmental of those who are late, gossip, or indulgent. But Daniel is shown throughout the Book as being a man who consistently living in the Kingdom of God. *Daniel didn t get into trouble because he of a LACK OF FAITH, it was his consistency that got him in trouble. *Not everyone is saved from the lion s den. Hebrews 11 tells us some were saved but many were not. Jesus was crucified. Peter, Paul and all the disciples were martyred (except John who was exiled). One estimate said that by 325 A.D. (when Constantine became the Holy Roman Emperor) there were 7 million Christians in the world then but 2 million had been martyred. Triumphalism needs to be avoided. Application: *What are you asking me to do? Be like Daniel - PRAY. Prayer is about re-ordering our lives. It recognizes that the kingdoms of the earth are limited and impotent. It also re-directs our heart to God. Prayer is a relationship with God. We do not know what Daniel prayed. But I would hazard a guess that his prayer was simply to know God better and to walk with him. Daniel s faith was not based on his circumstances. I m not sure what s going on in your life right now, but I ll bet there are some circumstances that are not ideal. WE can consistently pray. SELL PRAYER JOURNALS. We meet God through His Word. Scripture reading is the best place to start our prayers. Our prayer journals are a simple and structured daily way to do this. *Pray with Others. The longer I live out my faith the more I realize I can t do this on my own. I need you. You need me. Next Sunday night Prayer meeting @ 6:00.
Prayer changes our WORLDVIEW. God can/does do amazing things. Close with A Mighty Fortress Is Our God