Daniel 6:1-15
Sunday Morning – 10 Mar 2019 11:01:15 am – Pastor James Yang
Daniel was not a man of faith to begin with. Daniel had decided in his mind not to defile himself with the delicacies of the king. When Daniel saw the king’s delicacies, there were a few things that arose in his heart and he was not comfortable.
When the wisdom of God came to Daniel, he was then only able to change.
It’s not that we want to be happy and we can. We can only live up to how much we can see.
Because of the conspiracy, Daniel was in great trouble. For the presidents and the princes were jealous and angry with Daniel. So they conspired and made Darius sign an agreement to throw those into the den of lions, should those men worship or bow to any other gods or man. This was indeed a trap for Daniel and the king had no idea.
When the king’s orders went out, Daniel was completely aware of what has been signed by the king. He was fully aware of this fact, and yet, notwithstanding the danger, he was able to worship towards Jerusalem. Daniel did not even bother concealing this fact. He could have covered his room with the curtains but he did not do so.
““When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, wherever You send them, and when they pray to the LORD toward the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name, then hear in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. “When they sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to the land of the enemy, far or near; yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those who took them captive, saying, ‘We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness’; and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name: then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause,”
I Kings 8:44-49 NKJV
When king Solomon built the temple of God, he dedicated the temple of God before the people with this prayer. I can see that Daniel was fully aware of the prayer made by king Solomon and so this remained in his heart. The temple of God was centre for the people and this was why the people prayed towards the temple. Daniel was fully aware of the statutes of the presidents and the princes. Being fully aware, he still had his widows opened and prayed to the Lord facing Jerusalem. He prayed thrice a day and people noticed this.
Daniel had this focus and he was connected to the Word of God. If you have the Word of God in you, God would overcome al the problems for you.
The testimony of Daniel is a great strength to our hearts.
As I preach the gospel I tell them – Jesus Christ has washed away our sins perfectly – the past, present and future. So regardless of what we do, Jesus has perfected us.
“Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.”
Hosea 6:3 NKJV
God is very consistent. However, human are not.
When Daniel encountered problems in his life, he would still resume his daily routine of praying to the Lord.
There is this one Word that is in my heart.
“So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.””
Luke 14:7-11 NKJV
Daniel is invited to a feast called the den of lions. Daniel made up his mind. He did not “sit at the highest place”. If one does so, then one would avoid the problems. But Daniel was no so. He sat in the “lowest place”. He just entered into the problem.
“He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him.”
Proverbs 18:13 NKJV
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
Romans 8:1 NKJV
“Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.”
Titus 3:10-11 NKJV
If people say that are still sinners although they believe in Jesus – then they are divisive people. We however believe in Jesus and that our sins are washed away. For this reason many people call us cults and what not.
““All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.” So they told Mordecai Esther’s words. And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?””
Esther 4:11-14 NKJV
The one thing that Mordecai says is very important “relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place”
Jesus sits in the high place and we should sit at the low place. If we sit in the high place then many problems would arise. Mordecai understood the two things clearly.
There is the law and there is the new covenant. Under the new covenant, the old covenant does not matter anymore.
Daniel knew both of them. He knew the law. But he also knew the will of God. Daniel was not scared at all. Even at the risk of death and in the den of lions, he still had peace and rest within.
If you understand the Word of God clearly, it does not matter what kind of problem one has, these problems would not affect us at all.
The bible clearly tells us that we used to be slaves of sin. But now, we are the slaves of righteousness and no longer slaves of sin.
Daniel did not avoid the difficulties. He went into the den of lions. This is a man of faith.
Men who are not of faith avoid problems and difficulties. They avoid burdensome things in their lives. They have no faith and so they do such things.
Once you receive faith into your heart however, you will be able to receive grace.
We have a lot of events coming up – the bible seminar, Cantata, World Camp — please do not try to withdraw but experience how God works for you.
“Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.””
Acts 18:9-10 NKJV
This is the promise God gave me for the people of Australia so that they can receive salvation.