Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP200007S
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00:01 The Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word,
00:03 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:07 It says, 00:08 "To receive with meekness the implanted Word, 00:11 which is able to save your souls. 00:14 And to be diligent 00:15 to present yourself approved to God, 00:18 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:21 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is the Book of Daniel. 00:32 Hello, friends. 00:33 Welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:35 My name is John Lomacang. 00:37 Thank you for taking the time to tune in and join us 00:40 for our continued journey through the Book of Daniel. 00:42 Have we been blessed? 00:44 Amen. Yeah, absolutely. 00:45 And the blessing is gonna continue 00:46 so take the time, get your Bibles, your pens, 00:48 your family and your friends 00:50 and join us for this exciting excursion 00:53 through the living Word of God. 00:55 We're gonna visit an old friend that has a new message for us. 00:59 We've discovered that no matter 01:00 how long Daniel has been written, 01:02 it still has a message relevant for today 01:05 and the Lord is going to reveal that to us 01:07 and hopefully through us to you to enhance 01:10 your appreciation of the Word of God 01:12 but before we go any further, 01:14 let us find out who our panelists 01:15 are today and in fact, 01:16 they are not panelists to me, they are my family. 01:19 I begin with Pastor Kenny Shelton, 01:20 good to have you here today, Pastor. 01:21 Oh, it's always good to be here. 01:23 Love to study the Word of God together. 01:24 And I like your approach and your passion. 01:26 Don't lose that. God has blessed through it. 01:28 That's good. 01:29 Jill, good to have you here. 01:31 Thank you, Pastor John. 01:32 Privileged to be here and we have a list today. 01:34 Oh, good, I like that. I'm looking forward to it. 01:35 Nice. 01:37 And Pastor Ryan Day, today is the day. 01:39 Every day is the day, Brother. 01:40 That's right. And, Shelley? 01:42 I'm just excited to continue on in Daniel. 01:44 To good lady from Texas. Amen. 01:47 Okay, we are glad to have you all here today. 01:49 Before we tell you how to get a copy of the lesson, 01:51 we're gonna begin with prayer and, Jill, 01:52 would you start with our prayer today? 01:54 Dear Jesus, praising You for the gift of Your Word 01:57 and the gift of salvation, and the gift of Your Spirit. 02:00 And we just asked right now 02:02 that You would open up our minds and hearts 02:04 to receive what You have for us in Jesus' name. 02:07 Amen. Amen. 02:09 Now to get a copy of the lesson, 02:11 go to the following website 02:13 ABSG.Adventist.org, 02:18 there's where you download the copy 02:20 but even better than that, 02:21 find a local Seventh-day Adventist Church 02:23 and just walk in, 02:24 they will definitely welcome you to be 02:26 a part of the fellowship and the study of God's Word. 02:29 Now, the Book of Daniel 02:31 that we're talking about today is entitled, 02:35 "From the lions' den to the angels' den". 02:37 I like the title. 02:38 Have you noticed from one to the other, 02:40 that's been the theme throughout the lesson study, 02:43 but this one in particular and I know mine 02:45 I was looking at that today and I thought, 02:48 "Man, I have a topic on jealousy." 02:51 And we're gonna be breaking down 02:53 what I might refer to is the liabilities 02:57 of being used by God. 02:59 When the Lord lifts you up, there is a liability 03:03 and the Lord never exalts anyone 03:05 who is not safe to be exalted. 03:08 An exalted position is a dangerous place. 03:10 But a person that's surrounded 03:12 and filled by the Spirit of God 03:13 will not be affected by the position 03:15 that God allows them to occupy. 03:18 And the memory text is found in Daniel 6:4. 03:22 Let's go there together and look at the memory text, 03:25 Daniel 6:4. 03:27 And if you could summarize the Daniel Chapter 6, 03:29 is Daniel is promoted 03:31 and it starts all kinds of havoc 03:33 in the hearts of jealous men and leaders. 03:36 The Bible text says in Daniel 6:4, 03:39 "So the governors and satraps sought to find 03:42 some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom, 03:46 but they could find no charge or fault, 03:49 because he was..." 03:51 What's the next word? Faithful. 03:52 "Faithful, 03:54 nor was there any error or fault found in him." 03:58 When I look at this topic lesson, 04:00 not too long ago I did a sermon called 04:02 "The Ology of God." 04:04 And was about this particular topic 04:06 about Daniel in the den of lions ending up 04:09 where God knew he would end up. 04:11 And you know sometimes God 04:12 does not preempt our destination, 04:14 but He travels with us in that destination. 04:17 He didn't stop Daniel from going into den 04:20 and Daniel is the only one living today 04:22 that knows what it's like 04:23 to live and sleep on Saint Lion's Cathedral. 04:28 What a mattress! Mattress. 04:30 What a mattress! 04:32 The fur of a lion. 04:34 Now I wanna begin by going to Exodus Chapter 20 04:36 because the topic of jealousy is a very inflammatory one. 04:40 And we're gonna talk about various ways 04:42 that jealousy is exhibited 04:44 and various stories in the Bible 04:46 that illustrates jealousy, 04:48 and then we'll also give you various synonymous words 04:53 or synonyms that in fact mean the same thing. 04:57 But Exodus 20:17, 04:59 the writer of this lesson 05:01 points out that jealousy 05:02 is in fact a violation of this commandment, 05:05 the commandment of covetousness. 05:06 And by the way, the tenth commandment, 05:09 the covetous commandment 05:10 is the root of violating all the others. 05:13 You think about it. 05:15 It is the root of violating all the others. 05:17 Yes. 05:18 Think about, just break it all down, 05:20 I'm not gonna take the time to do that right now but, 05:22 it says in Exodus 20:17, 05:24 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house, 05:26 you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, 05:29 nor his male servant, 05:31 nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, 05:34 nor anything that is your neighbor's." 05:36 In fact, the word covets here 05:39 in fact means a person covets 05:41 because they're jealous of what another person has. 05:44 That's right. And they really want it. 05:45 They can't understand that. 05:47 There's a young man by the name of Asaph 05:48 in the Book of the Psalms. 05:50 And in Psalms 73 05:52 when you want to get a chance to look at the comparisons 05:54 between jealous of the wicked 05:56 and then the revelation of God 05:57 to take that jealousy away from us. 05:59 Psalms 73 is a powerful one. 06:01 But I just read the verses and you know the story, 06:05 God allowed Daniel in both administrations, 06:09 in the Babylonian administration 06:11 and in the Medo-Persian administration 06:13 because of his excellent spirit, 06:15 because of his attitude toward God. 06:17 He did not allow position to influence him or infect him. 06:22 And that's a very serious matter 06:23 because sometimes people can... 06:26 You put them in a position and all of a sudden there, 06:29 you know, all mighty. 06:31 They call shots and tell people what they can and cannot do, 06:35 but that was not the case with Daniel. 06:38 Daniel knew that God put him there for God to be exalted, 06:42 not him to be exalted. 06:43 So in the interest of time which never stops, 06:47 let's ask a question. 06:49 What role does jealousy play in all these stories? 06:52 And all these stories, 06:54 I'm gonna point out some stories in the Bible 06:55 where you find jealousy prevalent in many ways. 06:59 Jealousy can also be found in three different definitions. 07:03 One, envious of someone, 07:05 their achievements or their advantages. 07:07 Two, envious of someone's relationship 07:11 with another person. 07:14 That's funny. 07:15 I remember, an older lady said this years ago 07:20 and we were at another church, 07:21 I'm not gonna tell you which one, 07:23 but we were having fellowship lunch 07:24 and tongue in cheek 07:26 but you know I found that even in humor there is some truth. 07:31 Sometimes people cover truth with humor. 07:33 You know, they say 07:35 "I hope you trip and fall, just kidding." 07:37 But some people say things that they really mean, 07:40 this lady said, 07:41 but they'll cover it with a joke. 07:43 So this lady said to my wife, "If I was younger, 07:45 I'd give you a run for your money." 07:47 And because she like 07:49 to shake the pastor's hand and hug the pastor, 07:51 and she said that one day and I thought, 07:53 "Why would you say that?" 07:55 But she said, "I'm just kidding," 07:57 but I thought well out of the abundance of the heart 08:00 the mouth speaks. 08:02 Jealousy also is somebody sometimes fiercely protective 08:07 or vigilant of one's rights or possessions 08:10 and what that means is some people believe that... 08:14 And I'm gonna put this correctly, 08:16 they have the right to feel a certain way, 08:18 which is in fact is true. 08:20 But if the way they feel of the position 08:22 they've taken is incorrect, 08:23 and they resist correction, that's a form of jealousy. 08:27 I'm jealous of my position. 08:30 Even though the Bible says that God's position 08:32 does not cause him to be conly jealous. 08:36 He is jealous with a godly jealousy meaning, 08:39 he does not want to share those whom he love 08:42 with an everlasting love. 08:43 It's not a corrupt jealousy. 08:45 Years ago, I heard Oprah Winfrey say 08:47 one of the reasons why she desired 08:49 no longer to be a Christian 08:51 is because she heard that God is jealous 08:52 and why would God be jealous of her? 08:54 And I thought that's a distortion of God's jealousy. 08:57 Well, let's consider the following. 08:59 Jealousy begins in the heart. 09:00 Isaiah 14:13, Lucifer the Bible says, 09:04 "For you have set in your heart." 09:07 Jealousy begins in the heart. 09:10 And you know what he... 09:11 Jealousy began in his heart and then he had an I problem. 09:14 I will, I will, I will, I will, 09:17 and Isaiah 14:13 to 15 09:20 he pointed out of all the things 09:21 his jealousy was leading him to want to covet 09:24 that began in his heart. 09:26 Jealousy also leads to covetousness. 09:29 2 Chronicles 26:16, this is about Uzziah. 09:33 He coveted a position that God never gave him. 09:35 And it didn't happen until he was in position 09:38 for more than 52 years. 09:40 It was in the latter part of his life that he coveted 09:42 what God never gave him 09:43 and he transgressed against the Lord 09:46 by entering the temple of the Lord 09:47 to burn incense on the altar of incense. 09:50 He coveted the position of the priest. 09:53 Also jealousy leads to resentfulness. 09:58 Haman against Mordecai. 10:02 Haman was exalted, he was promoted, 10:05 but he was so resentful of the lack of acknowledgement 10:10 that Mordecai had toward him 10:12 and that led him to plot against Mordecai. 10:16 He desired in his jealousy 10:19 and in his resentfulness to take the life of Mordecai. 10:23 Praise the Lord 10:25 as the verse ends in Esther 3:1 and 2, 10:28 "But Mordecai would not bow or pay homage." 10:31 And let me make a point here. 10:33 When people determined to destroy you, 10:36 they are in the position of Haman, 10:38 the Lord will allow them to go as far as they can 10:41 and He will allow them, He'll give them 10:42 as much time as they need 10:44 to build their gallows and in the end, 10:46 the gallows they built for you 10:49 would be the gallows that'll perpetrate their own demise. 10:52 That's a good way of saying hang themselves. 10:55 The third one, jealousy leads to spitefulness 10:59 Sarai against Hagar. 11:01 She couldn't have children and when Hagar bore a child, 11:05 I tell you the recommendation that she made to Abraham 11:08 will never be made in my household. 11:13 Enough said. 11:16 When she saw the Bible says in Genesis 16:1 to 6, verse 4, 11:20 so, the Bible says "So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. 11:25 And when she saw that she had conceived, 11:27 her mistress became despised in her eyes." 11:30 They had hatred between each other. 11:32 Sarai was angry with the, very jealous of the attention 11:35 that Abraham gave her 11:37 and you know the rest of the story. 11:38 She sent her away, but the Lord said, 11:40 "It was your suggestion. 11:42 You cannot just throw her out." 11:43 So he sent Hagar back 11:45 and said you get this matter settled. 11:47 So be careful. 11:48 Don't start stuff that you can't finish. 11:51 The next example of jealousy was, 11:53 jealousy leads to evil plotting. 11:56 Well you know, his brothers, Joseph and his brothers. 11:59 Yes. 12:00 He was talking about that and you know what? 12:02 I think that Joseph had a mouth issue 12:04 to be honest with you. 12:05 The Lord gave him a dream and he said, "You know Kenny, 12:07 the Lord dream told me last night 12:08 that you're gonna be bowing to me 12:10 for the rest of your life." 12:11 If that wouldn't lead you to try to wanna hit me, 12:13 I don't know what will... 12:15 You know, from now on you guys are gonna be bowing down 12:17 and worshipping me. 12:18 I know they felt, you know, this is our younger brother, 12:21 what can we do to shut him up? 12:22 Yes. 12:24 And then he boasted about his coat of many colors 12:25 and they were some grievance there and what they did, 12:28 they threw him in a pit 12:30 and but they did not know that God was gonna take him 12:33 from pits to palaces. 12:36 Also jealousy leads to hate. 12:38 Esau against Jacob, 12:42 he sold his birth right for lentils, 12:44 for a pot of stew and then after he did that, 12:47 after he relinquished 12:49 the blessing that God intended for him, 12:51 the Bible says in Genesis 27:41, 12:53 "So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing 12:56 with which his father blessed him, 12:59 and Esau said in his heart, 13:01 remember jealousy begins in the heart, 13:04 "The days of mourning for my father are at hand, 13:07 then I will kill my brother Jacob." 13:11 Jealousy leads to hate, 13:13 but now let me end with the cure for hate. 13:15 The prayer of David create in me a clean heart, O God. 13:18 That's right. 13:20 And renew a right spirit within me. 13:23 Act of the Apostles 271, 13:25 jealousy evil surmising an accusation 13:28 had closed the heart of many 13:30 of the Corinthian believers 13:32 against the full working of the Holy Spirit 13:34 which searches all things. 13:35 Yes, the deep things of God. 13:37 Don't allow jealousy to close the door 13:39 that the Spirit of God wants to do in your life. 13:41 Amen. Praise the Lord. 13:44 Plotting, jealousy leads to plotting, 13:47 and in Monday's lesson the plot against Daniel. 13:52 So it leads right into that for sure 13:54 because there was lot of plotting going on 13:56 and there's lot of people who love to plot. 13:57 The enemy is a plotter, as far as I'm concerned. 14:00 They're always playing out and it deals with jealousy, 14:02 I like that. 14:03 We're gonna be looking at Daniel Chapter 6, 14:05 so have your Bible and be sure and turn and at least mark it, 14:07 Daniel 6:6 through 9. 14:09 This is gonna be our read here, 14:10 this is gonna be our foundation so that we can build on. 14:14 Starting with verse 6, said, 14:15 "Then the presidents and the princesses 14:17 assembled together at the king, and said thus to him, 14:19 'King Darius, live forever!' 14:21 " When you come in there make the king feel good. 14:25 Live forever. 14:26 But if someone went in there 14:27 did not want him to live forever, 14:29 he can be guaranteed. 14:30 All the presidents of the kingdom, 14:32 the governors and the princess, 14:33 and the counselors and the captains, 14:35 notice this, it says, 14:36 they have consulted together to establish a royal statute 14:39 and to make a firm decree, 14:41 whoever shall ask a petition of any god 14:44 or man for thirty days, except you, O king, 14:46 he shall be cast into the den of lions." 14:49 You knew where this was going, right? 14:51 When you go to Daniel Chapter 6, 14:52 it says, "Now, O king, 14:53 establish the decree and sign the writing, 14:56 that it cannot be changed, 14:57 according to the law of the Medes and Persians, 15:00 which alters not." 15:02 Therefore King Darius signed the written decree. 15:04 So you look at here it just said there's a plot. 15:06 What's going on? 15:08 What's the thinking behind this? 15:10 You know, there's something going on, 15:11 there's a plotting that's going on here. 15:13 Sunday's lesson brought that out clear 15:15 and I like that with the jealousy part of it 15:17 as a plot. 15:18 And the plot was to simply remove 15:20 Daniel from office. 15:21 Why? Because they were jealous. 15:23 They were jealous of him, they didn't want him, right... 15:25 He didn't belong, he was a... 15:26 May I say a foreigner in the country 15:29 and they didn't want him occupying position 15:31 they thought they should have. 15:34 And so it all centered around though and say 15:36 how can we get Daniel, 15:37 somebody mentioned here in our previous lessons 15:39 because he's a just man, he's a good man, he loved... 15:42 They couldn't find any fault with him. 15:44 You know, and we pray that's gonna be 15:46 as when the Lord comes he sent a final fault in us. 15:50 But, how's he gonna find? 15:52 He's gonna find this fault, 15:53 they're gonna find it in the law of God 15:55 because they knew he's gonna stand fast 15:57 for what he was raised with and what he believed in. 15:59 Keep this in mind. 16:00 There's a history repeats itself. 16:03 Notice this, "God's people will be put under circumstances 16:07 that they must obey God or the laws of the land." 16:11 And that's even now. 16:13 It's mustering up right now, this is behind the scene, 16:15 things are going on. 16:17 The Sabbath is going to be the great test, 16:19 we understand that. 16:21 Studying the Word of God, 16:22 the Great Controversy, page 605, 16:24 "Notice the law will be invoked against commandment keepers." 16:28 Great Controversy, 607, 16:31 "Threatened with fines and imprisonment and death." 16:33 To me, this relates 16:35 to what we're talking about here 16:36 because there was a death decree, 16:38 was it or not? 16:39 That's right. 16:41 And if you did anything other than what they say, 16:42 so there was a plot going on 16:43 and I tell you there's a plot going on today. 16:45 That's right. 16:47 The enemy has a plan, it's being plotted, 16:48 it's all being laid out in the darkness and, 16:49 you know, in the secrecy, 16:52 but one of these days it's gonna gonna come 16:53 to the surface and it's going overwhelm 16:54 most of us because we'll say 16:56 this could not happen in this country. 16:59 A decree will finally be issued 17:00 against also who hallow the Sabbath, 17:02 those who keep the seventh day Sabbath, 17:04 the fourth commandment. 17:05 Denouncing them as deserving of the severest punishment 17:09 and after certain time be put to death. 17:11 Great Controversy 615 and 616, Revelation 13:15. 17:16 Now, as we look at this a little bit closer, 17:18 we realize that the main man, 17:20 I wanna say in this kingdom came to him. 17:23 You know, the King Darius was soon to fall into a trap, 17:26 a trap was laid. 17:27 The purpose of a trap 17:29 is to get someone to fall in unexpectedly, 17:31 you know, the trappers go out and they, 17:33 you know, in the forest whenever they put a trap, 17:35 but they cover that trap 17:37 so that their prey doesn't see it 17:39 and so they'll somehow stumble 17:40 into that trap and to be caught. 17:42 So he was being set up. 17:45 They were always fearful about being set up. 17:47 And so they want to make sure there was but here he was. 17:50 And it was prepared by his officers. 17:52 They wanted to get rid of Daniel, 17:54 but the trap had to be laid, now notice this, you look at, 17:56 had to be laid very carefully here, 17:59 for the kingdom had just recently went in to some, 18:02 I wanna call it renovations here, 18:03 some changes, 18:05 you know, the government, 18:06 they appointed what was a 120 princes 18:08 and 3 presidents in. 18:09 Daniel was the main one and the person 18:11 that just really got him jealous 18:14 and so they want to make sure they get rid of him. 18:16 Now why choose Daniel as the first president. 18:19 Well, it could be a lot of several reasons 18:21 and probably all of you have different ones here. 18:23 But it's mentioned, I think it because he had a unique spirit. 18:27 He had the spirit of the living God living in him. 18:29 He had the Holy Spirit leading and guiding 18:31 and directing in every step that he took. 18:35 So Daniel had, 18:36 you know, he survived the golden age of Babylon. 18:40 Man, he is a man with some experience. 18:42 Here's a man now experience the things of the government 18:45 and the way government is run and dealing with people, 18:47 but he had an experience with God. 18:49 This is what we need today more than anything in world, 18:52 it's not the experience of governments, 18:53 it's not knowing what all going on in the world, 18:55 it's our relationship with Jesus Christ. 18:57 This is gonna dictate the outcome 18:59 of where we spend eternity. 19:01 I wanna read something, I just feel impressed to do 19:03 and I just need to do it if you don't mind. 19:05 That's right. Go ahead, Brother. 19:07 Because these are laws of land, things are happening. 19:09 Law of God made void here, this is in Review and Herald, 19:12 December 18, 1888, I have in my Bible down here. 19:15 It says here, "A time is coming 19:16 when the law of God in the special sense 19:18 is to maybe made" what? 19:20 "Void in our land." 19:22 We're talking about laws being passed if you're not, 19:24 you know, won't go along with the laws of the land, 19:25 then you're gonna be killed. 19:27 Notice this, "In a special sense 19:29 had been made void in our land. 19:30 The rulers of our nation will by legislative enactments 19:33 enforce this, we call it Sunday law, 19:36 and thus God's people be brought into great peril. 19:39 When our nation and its legislative council 19:41 shall enact laws to bind the conscience of man. 19:45 Notice this, in regard to their religious privileges, 19:48 was Daniel been challenge with his religious privileges? 19:51 Absolutely he was. 19:53 And this is calling by enforcing Sunday 19:54 and could be enforcing whether 19:56 you can't pray or whatever might be, 19:57 and observance and bringing oppressive power 20:00 to bear against those who keep the seventh day Sabbath, 20:03 the law of God will be, notice it, 20:05 in all intents and purposes be made void 20:08 in our land and national apostasy 20:10 we know will follow a national ruin." 20:13 These are things that are set up 20:14 and things that a lot of people are just afraid to read, 20:17 they don't want to read them. 20:18 But how in the world can we, 20:19 when we studied the Book of Revelation, 20:21 when we studied the Book of Daniel, 20:22 these are things that set out so prominent 20:25 before as a people of God, that God saying what? 20:28 These are things that you are going to be going through. 20:30 These are the challenges you're going to have to face. 20:32 History is going to repeat itself. 20:34 So by the grace of God, we need to look at it, 20:36 not trying to offend, not trying to upset anyone, 20:39 you know, not jealous as they were anyone, 20:41 just we're jealous of God 20:43 and his message that we have to give. 20:45 Now notice that we go on here, says here, 20:47 so we see that Daniel was chosen here. 20:50 Daniel survived the golden age, we said, 20:52 and the king checks out the record of Daniel. 20:54 He looks at Daniel's records before he appoints him. 20:56 He looks and said, "Man, this is spick and span. 20:59 There's nothing wrong with this guy, 21:00 he's the guy that I'd like to have 21:02 sit as ruler in my council because I can trust him." 21:06 His officers knew this, so what did they do? 21:09 They had to be very careful with the plot. 21:11 So they went to the king right quick and they said, 21:12 "O liveth this man. 21:14 Now somebody lied. 21:15 O liveth this man. 21:17 It's very obvious in the context of it 21:19 that all of the rulers and princes and leaders 21:21 and all didn't come together and all weren't in agreement. 21:25 It was some of those who were jealous. 21:28 The top dogs. 21:29 And so they came and they said 21:31 that to the king and they're saying, 21:33 you know, the king and his court I might say, 21:36 he always has the king's court 21:37 and maybe it's not so bad sometime. 21:39 They always have their eyes and their ears. 21:41 There's always somebody that's watching somebody, 21:43 there's always somebody that's listening to somebody 21:45 and there's always reporting to somebody else, you know. 21:48 They wanna detect in the king's court here 21:51 to detect any kind of conspiracy, 21:53 conspiracy, conspiracy. 21:55 I just said three times 21:57 'cause people don't wanna hear that word. 21:58 That's right. 21:59 I take my glasses off conspiracy 22:01 that we have to look at it. 22:03 There was a conspiracy going on here, 22:05 and I'm saying today there's a conspiracy going on. 22:08 There's fake and false and all those kind of business 22:11 you can get, 22:12 side tracked by some of these things in balance 22:15 but don't, there're some things that are going on, 22:17 we need to be aware of. 22:18 And they are in the court, the king said, 22:20 "I'm gonna be aware 22:21 of everything's going on naturally." 22:22 So he missed it. 22:25 He missed what was going on. 22:27 There was a few other leaders that came in, reported him, 22:29 all the others, they want there, Daniel said. 22:31 They said they consulted together, 22:33 if anyone ask any petition 22:34 as you well know within 30 days 22:37 so say that he would be cast in the den of lions 22:39 and they knew if the king signed it, 22:41 what would happen? 22:42 This is a way to get Daniel 22:43 because Daniel's gonna open that window 22:45 and Daniel's going to pray. 22:46 Daniel's gonna do 22:48 what Daniel did everyday of his life, true to his God. 22:50 Amen. 22:52 But you know what, that's what we should be doing 22:53 whether the windows are opened, whether the windows are closed, 22:55 whether we're in shopping mall, whether we're in a restaurant, 22:58 wherever we're at, we're to rightly represent 23:00 Christ and God in all things in what we do. 23:03 But you know, again when they said, 23:05 I thought it was interesting the king here, 23:07 when you sit in that position by the way, 23:08 he had to be, 23:09 he was setting himself as the mediator. 23:11 He was the mediator 23:13 because nobody could pray to anybody 23:15 except they go through the king, you remember that? 23:17 We pray through the king 23:18 and all these other things gets answered, 23:20 you know, so it was something 23:21 you had to look at and study with. 23:25 I think we realize in the hour that we live, 23:27 there's things are going on that we need be well aware 23:29 of and you know what, the time is coming 23:31 when these things will be fulfilled again 23:33 and we need to be ready for that time. 23:34 Amen. Thank you, Pastor Kenny. 23:36 Appreciate that very much. 23:37 As you can see, we're off to a flying start. 23:40 Don't go anywhere. 23:42 We're gonna get into the prayer of Daniel next. 23:44 What do you do when people are plotting against you 23:46 and are very jealous? 23:48 Stay tuned, we'll be right back. 23:55 Ever wish you could watch 23:56 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 23:58 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 24:01 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 24:06 A clean design makes it easy 24:09 to find the program you're looking for. 24:11 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:14 so you can follow along. 24:16 Sharing is easy. 24:17 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 24:21 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:26 Welcome back to our 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 24:29 We're gonna move to Tuesday where Jill has Daniel's prayer. 24:33 Thank you so much, Pastor John. 24:35 Appreciated both of you and what you brought 24:37 as far as the foundation for this plot against Daniel, 24:40 the jealousy that the governors 24:42 and the satraps had against Daniel 24:44 and then the decree that they tricked, 24:46 Pastor Kenny, with a conspiracy, 24:48 they tricked the king into signing that into law. 24:52 We know that the law of Medes and the Persians 24:54 cannot be altered. 24:56 It could not be changed. 24:58 So now we see Daniel's response, 25:00 on Tuesday's lesson. 25:02 And I have one verse to talk to you about, 25:04 so let's jump into that one verse. 25:08 Daniel 6:10. 25:10 This is Daniel's response, 25:12 "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, 25:14 he went home. 25:16 And in his upper room, 25:17 with his windows open toward Jerusalem, 25:20 he knelt down on his knees three times that day, 25:24 and prayed and gave thanks before his God, 25:26 as was his custom since early days." 25:29 So I want to unpack that verse just a little bit, 25:32 the one verse. 25:33 Then we're gonna look at eight ways 25:35 that we can stand for God, when we're facing persecution. 25:40 In other words, we're all going to face persecution. 25:43 And the Bible says all that live godly 25:45 in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution 25:48 at one point or another. 25:50 And we also know coming at the end of time 25:52 will come a great time of persecution. 25:55 So we will all face something at one point or another 25:58 in our lives and it's an important to learn 26:01 how should we stand to endure that persecution? 26:04 But before we do that, 26:05 I just want to look little bit more 26:06 at this verse here, verse 10. 26:08 Some of the takeaways that I took from that verse. 26:11 You know, sometimes the Bible is very deliberate 26:15 in the way it write things. 26:17 What I mean by that is Daniel, 26:19 we know Daniel's the author of Daniel. 26:21 But he could have easily said, we end with the plot, 26:24 we end with the conspiracy 26:26 with the decree being signed into law, 26:28 and then he could've just said, 26:30 "Now Daniel went to his upper room, 26:32 with his windows open toward Jerusalem, 26:34 and knelt down and prayed." 26:35 And Pastor Ryan, I would've been left wondering, 26:38 did Daniel know about the decree? 26:40 Did Daniel know it was signed into law, right? 26:42 It's very specific, isn't it? 26:44 It says when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, 26:48 he went home. 26:49 Then he knelt down and prayed. 26:51 So it's very specific. 26:53 It's like Daniel wanted us to know 26:56 that with full knowledge 26:57 that he was taking his life 26:59 as it were into his own hands 27:00 that he could be killed. 27:02 He still chose to honor God. 27:05 I think another time in the Bible 27:07 where it seems to me to be very deliberate 27:09 is in the foot washing, John Chapter 13. 27:12 This is Jesus, and He arose from supper 27:15 and He took a towel and girded Himself 27:17 and began to wash the disciples' feet. 27:19 Now if He had said that, we would have thought, 27:21 well, Jesus knew He was divine, 27:23 but He chose to wash and be a servant 27:25 and wash the disciples' feet. 27:27 But in John 13:3, John says, Jesus, 27:29 knowing that the Father had given 27:31 all things into His hands, 27:33 and that He had come from God and was going to God, 27:37 rose from supper, 27:39 laid aside His garments, 27:40 and took a towel and girded Himself. 27:42 So with full knowledge of His divinity, 27:44 He still chose to serve. 27:46 With Daniel with full knowledge of the king's decree, 27:50 he still chose to pray. 27:53 He chose obedience to His God over any earthly power, 27:57 over any earthly law. 27:59 Now the Bible doesn't say if he was afraid or not, 28:01 I don't know if he was or not, 28:03 but he made a choice based on principle. 28:07 He knew he was acting in obedience to God's law 28:09 even if it was in defiance to a man made law. 28:14 And he didn't deliberately provoke his enemies. 28:16 This was his custom to pray three times a day. 28:20 He continued in his regular custom. 28:23 I think Daniel understood 28:24 that this was all part of the great controversy. 28:28 Not just jealous princes, and it was jealous princes, 28:31 not just human politics, 28:33 but Satan was using them as it were 28:35 behind the scenes as part of this cosmic conflict, 28:39 the struggle between good and evil, 28:41 between Christ and Satan. 28:43 He probably remembered Daniel 3 28:45 that it happened years ago with his friends 28:47 and how God had delivered them 28:48 and I wonder if when he prayed, 28:50 he said, "O God if it's in Your will, 28:53 would You deliver me as well?" 28:56 If it had been me, I would have prayed that. 28:58 And he also prayed with thanksgiving 29:02 and I want to get to that, 29:03 that's one of our points as we get to later. 29:05 But I love that he prayed with thanksgiving. 29:09 You know one and God are majority. 29:12 It might not feel like it, it might not look like it, 29:16 but it is always true. 29:18 So let's look at how do we stand for God 29:20 when we are facing apposition 29:22 or when we're facing persecution? 29:24 Here's eight ways. 29:26 Now first, stand with expectation. 29:29 What do I mean by that? 29:31 Don't be surprised by it. 29:33 1 Peter 4:12, "Beloved, 29:35 do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial 29:38 which is to try you, 29:39 as though some strange thing happened to you." 29:42 We know that all that live godly 29:44 in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 29:48 So stand with expectation. 29:49 What I mean by that is don't be surprised, 29:53 don't be naive, 29:57 don't have blinders pulled over your eyes 29:59 and you just not expecting it. 30:02 Expect persecution, 30:04 expect the battle and be equipped 30:07 and prepared for battle. 30:09 That's right. So stand with expectation. 30:11 Second is stand with prayer. 30:14 That is vitally important before any battle, 30:16 before any persecution, before anything we encounter, 30:20 we need to spend time in prayer. 30:23 And we know Daniel prayed, the Bible was very clear, 30:26 three times that day. 30:27 And I'm sure the day after and I'm sure after that too 30:30 because that was his habit, that was his custom. 30:34 You know, sometimes we wait until persecution, 30:36 Pastor Kenny, 30:37 and then we think we're going to turn to God. 30:39 Then we think, oh, I really need you right now, 30:43 now that is true. 30:44 It is true I think about Peter when he climbed down 30:46 and then he said, "Help Lord," right? 30:48 And then God saved him and there are times 30:50 when we reach out and I know that God hears and answers, 30:53 but if you establish right now today, 30:57 in the time of peace and prosperity as it were. 31:00 If you establish your walk with God, 31:01 if you establish that prayer life, 31:04 it will stand you in good stead 31:06 when the persecution comes. 31:09 Today is the day of salvation. 31:10 Today is the day to develop your relationship with God. 31:12 That's right. Number four. 31:14 Stand under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. 31:18 That's right. I think about the disciples. 31:20 Remember right before Jesus was crucified, 31:23 what's the Bible say, 31:24 "All the disciples forsook Him and fled 31:25 because they were terrified. 31:27 And then Acts 1:8, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit. 31:30 He says, "You shall receive power, 31:33 when the Holy Spirit has come upon me, 31:35 upon you and you should be witnesses to me and Judea, 31:39 in Samaria and to the end of the earth." 31:41 So when the Holy Spirit was poured out, 31:42 you see a transformation in the disciples' lives. 31:46 We see in Acts Chapter 2 in Peter's sermon. 31:48 We see in Acts Chapter 4, the scribes and rulers, 31:51 what does the Bible say? 31:52 They took knowledge that they had been with Jesus. 31:56 In other words, their lives were so radically changed. 32:00 That was the power of the Holy Spirit. 32:03 So we stand and we anoint in the Holy Spirit. 32:05 Number four, stand on God's word 32:08 and in obedience to God's word. 32:12 Acts Chapter 5, this is little further 32:14 in the early Christian church. 32:16 And the disciples were hauled in again 32:19 before the priests and scribes. 32:21 And we're in Acts 5:28, the high priest said to them, 32:25 "Did we not strictly command you 32:26 not to teach in this name? 32:28 And look, you have filled Jerusalem 32:29 with your doctrine, 32:31 and intend to bring this Man's blood on us! 32:33 But Peter and the other apostles 32:35 answered and said: 'We ought to obey God 32:38 rather than men.' 32:39 " So they stood on God's word and what God's word said 32:41 instead of human traditions or human laws. 32:45 But not only that, they stood in obedience to what God said. 32:49 Amen. 32:50 Number five, stand and respond with humility. 32:55 You know, we can stand on God's word, 32:57 we can stand in prayer, but we can't stand in, 32:59 I would say arrogance or irritation 33:04 or not in the spirit of meekness. 33:08 Paul writing to Timothy, his son in the faith, 33:10 2 Timothy 2:24 and 25, 33:13 "Servant of the Lord must not quarrel 33:16 but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 33:19 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, 33:24 if God perhaps will grant them repentance, 33:27 so that they may know the truth." 33:29 So we stand with humility 33:32 because God wants to bring 33:33 the people who are prosecuting you 33:35 to repentance as well. 33:37 God desires their salvation as well. 33:39 Number six, stand with decisive action. 33:42 We can be humble, but still stand decidedly. 33:45 I think about Matthew 21, 33:47 Jesus cleansing the temple and coming in with the whip. 33:50 Now He definitely stood with some decisive action. 33:54 Number seven, stand with love and kindness. 33:57 Matthew 5:44, Jesus saying, "Love your enemies, 34:01 bless those who curse you, 34:02 do good to those who spitefully use you." 34:05 So there are times we need to have decisive action, 34:08 but at the same time we must have the love of Jesus 34:13 and the humility of Jesus expressed in our actions. 34:16 And finally number eight, stand with thanksgiving. 34:21 Daniel stood with thanksgiving. 34:22 He prayed with thanksgiving. 34:24 When he was faced with losing his life, 34:27 he still gave thanks to God. 34:30 Amen. 34:31 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Rejoice always, 34:35 in everything give thanks, 34:37 for this is the will of God 34:38 in Christ Jesus concerning you." 34:39 So God calls us above all to stand. 34:42 Amen. 34:44 Praise the Lord. Not bad for one verse! 34:45 Very good. 34:47 Yeah, praise the Lord. 34:48 Well, I have Wednesday's lesson entitled "In the lion's den." 34:52 And so we're gonna talk about, 34:54 Brother Kenny called the conspiracy 34:56 to put Daniel in this lions' den 34:58 and it was indeed a conspiracy and a plot to do evil. 35:02 And so, actually I have an abundance of scriptures 35:05 to work with and I'm very thankful for that. 35:07 And so while we may not get to all these verses, 35:09 I would like to begin with Daniel 6:11, 35:13 we're gonna try to read through to verse 23 if time permits. 35:17 And so verse 11 begins to tell us, here, it says, 35:19 "Then these men assembled and found Daniel 35:21 praying and making supplication before his God. 35:25 And they went before the king, 35:27 and spoke concerning the king's decree: 35:29 'Have you not signed a decree that every man 35:32 who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, 35:36 O king, shall be cast into the lions' den?" 35:41 Interesting. 35:42 So I just wanna as we kind of set this up here. 35:45 I just wanna note the fact that it says, 35:48 "they were assembled." 35:51 Now we know they plotted, 35:53 they had assembled to plot this, 35:55 and I just want to reiterate what you said. 35:56 This wasn't all of the leaders, these were just a few jealous, 36:00 ungodly men 36:02 who had the spirit of the Devil in their heart, 36:04 and all that they wanted to see 36:06 was they wanted to see Daniel fall 36:08 and themselves rise. 36:09 And so what we see here 36:11 is now they were assembling again because again 36:14 they couldn't find any fault with Daniel. 36:16 They tried to find every piece of evidence that they could, 36:18 they could not find any faults, so now it's like okay, 36:20 you know what? 36:22 We're gonna put him, 36:23 we're gonna really take this up a notch 36:26 and we're gonna someone try to catch him 36:28 in the act if we can. 36:30 And so it's ultimately what we find here 36:32 is this was a plan to deceive 36:34 and manipulate the higher authority. 36:36 That's ultimately what it came to. 36:38 When they couldn't find fault with Daniel, 36:40 they decided, is there any way that we can ultimately deceive 36:43 and plot to deceive the higher authority 36:46 that makes the decision against Daniel, 36:48 and that is exactly what we find happening here. 36:50 Notice what the Bible continues on to say, it says, 36:52 "The king answered and said, 'The thing is true, 36:55 according to the law of the Medes and Persians, 36:57 which does not alter.' 36:59 So they answered and said before the king, 37:02 that Daniel," 37:05 little bit of prejudice here, little bit of disrespect, 37:08 that Daniel, 37:09 he's not even worthy of just you know, Daniel, 37:11 that Daniel, 37:13 "who is one of the captives from Judah, 37:15 does not show due regard for you, O king, for it says, 37:18 or for the decree that you have signed, 37:21 but makes his petition, notice, three times a day." 37:24 And how do they know that it was three times a day? 37:26 Because they had this brother on lock down surveillance. 37:31 Okay, they were watching day and night, 37:33 they had assembles together, they had plotted, 37:35 and we see that they watch 37:36 that they have watched very particularly 37:39 so that they might catch 37:40 the slightest mistake to report to the king. 37:43 And again I just want to reiterate 37:45 the fact you could see the spirit behind these men 37:47 because as they walk in, 37:48 you know, Daniel is in a very high position. 37:51 He's technically their authority, 37:53 he's over these guys. 37:54 And, of course, you could see the disrespect 37:56 in a sense that 'That Daniel'. 37:58 King, you know that Daniel, yeah, well, 38:01 he's not really doing what you said for him to do. 38:04 Notice verse 14, "And the king, when he heard these words, 38:07 was greatly displeased with himself, 38:09 and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him, 38:11 and he labored till the going down of the sun." 38:16 So notice how it says, 38:17 you know, this king knew immediately 38:19 what was taken place. 38:20 By this point, he is figuring it out. 38:22 Wait a second, I see what's happening here. 38:25 He knew that he had been scammed 38:28 into conspiring against Daniel. 38:30 That's essentially what it happened. 38:32 He felt ashamed, and why did he feel ashamed? 38:35 Because he knew the very character of Daniel. 38:38 He knew Daniel was a righteous man 38:40 with no ill intention to usurp him 38:42 or his authority in any way. 38:44 He knew Daniel personally 38:45 and so all of this is coming together, 38:47 he's starting to see now, I see what's happening here. 38:50 He has been, basically the king is trying to find a loophole 38:55 to possibly get around executing Daniel. 38:57 But of course this political circus 39:00 has pushed things past the point of no return 39:02 and he realizes that. 39:04 And so the scripture goes on to tell us. 39:06 "Then these men approached the king, 39:07 and said to the king, 'Know, O king, 39:09 that it is the law of the Medes and Persians 39:11 that no decree or statute 39:13 which the king establishes may be changed.' 39:15 " So notice how these men are further pushing 39:19 this political card to try to frame Daniel. 39:21 They were forcing the king in on their political conspiracy. 39:26 And you know, this reminds me of the spirit of someone. 39:28 Who does come to my mind? 39:30 Oh yes, how about the Devil, Satan, 39:32 you know, it says in Book of Revelation 12:7, 39:36 speaking of heaven, it says, 39:37 "And war broke out in heaven. 39:40 And that word war there is the Greek word Polemos, 39:44 and the very nature of the war 39:45 that broke out in heaven is you're seeing 39:47 the very nature of that war right here, 39:49 in this particular conspiracy. 39:50 It's all politics. 39:52 That word Polemos is simply politicking. 39:54 The Devil knew he couldn't beat Jesus 39:56 in a sword fight or a fist fight 39:58 or try to fight Him physically, 39:59 Jesus could've just snapped His finger 40:01 and he would've been gone, right? 40:03 He's not gonna pick the fight with Jesus physically, 40:04 the nature of the war was the war of words. 40:07 It was a war of conspiracy against the character of God. 40:11 And so we're seeing 40:12 that it's exactly what the devil 40:14 is trying to pull on Daniel by working through these men 40:16 that try to discredit him. 40:18 And so that's exactly what they're attempting to do. 40:21 The devil divided heaven with his politics 40:23 and that's exactly the spirit that we see at work here. 40:27 Verse 16 that says, "So the king gave the command, 40:30 and they brought Daniel and cast him 40:32 into the den of lions. 40:34 But the king spoke, saying to Daniel," I love this. 40:37 "Your God, whom you serve," 40:39 and I can't emphasize this enough continually, 40:42 "The God you serve continually, He will deliver you." 40:46 You know, this is a statement of faith 40:48 from a pagan god, from a pagan king. 40:51 Now I think there's evidence in this chapter 40:53 that while he wasn't quite there yet, 40:55 you know, I think that this king 40:57 had been in the presence of Daniel enough, 40:59 he had saw the witness of Daniel, 41:00 had had saw the character of Daniel, 41:02 he had heard stories perhaps of, 41:04 you know, how God had delivered Daniel 41:06 and his friends in the past, 41:08 that all of this is coming together 41:09 and he's making a statement of faith. 41:10 He says, "Look, I know Daniel, 41:12 I know Daniel is a righteous man and, 41:14 of course, he knows that declaring in faith 41:17 that Daniel's God will deliver him, 41:19 he had faith in that. 41:21 And I just want to emphasize that the reason 41:22 why that the God is gonna deliver Daniel 41:25 is because Daniel served him how? 41:28 Continually, and I just wanna make an appeal right now, 41:30 please my friends, 41:32 we need to learn as a people to be servants of God, 41:35 not just on Monday's 41:36 and not just on Sabbath's and not just on... 41:39 We need to learn to serve God continually 41:41 and following the example of Daniel. 41:43 Notice verse 17, 41:44 "Then a stone was brought 41:45 and laid at the mouth of the den, 41:47 and the king sealed it with his own signet ring, 41:49 with the signets of his lords, 41:51 and of course the purpose concerning 41:52 Daniel might be charged," 41:54 or excuse me, "that it may not be changed," excuse me. 41:56 And so, now the king went to his palace and spent, 41:59 notice this, all night fasting, 42:02 and no musicians were brought before him. 42:04 And his sleep went from him. 42:05 You see, this is unusual behavior from a king 42:08 because most arrogant kings are gonna be like, 42:10 "Well you know, I hate that 42:11 this had to happen to Daniel but, 42:12 oh, well, he could be replaced." 42:14 That's not what's happened here. 42:16 You see, he's disturbed and he went so far as to fast. 42:19 Now why would a pagan king fast? 42:21 I believe he's probably is following the example. 42:22 He probably saw Daniel fasting quite a bit. 42:24 Oh, Daniel was a faster, he's a prayer. 42:26 And so, I should do the same thing 42:28 if there's any hope for Daniel. 42:30 And so, of course, very early in the morning, 42:32 we see that he comes in and he rolls back, 42:36 obviously they roll back that stone, 42:37 he screams aloud to Daniel, 42:40 "Daniel, servant of the living God, 42:41 has your God, whom you serve, 42:43 there it is again continually, 42:44 been able to deliver you from the lions?" 42:46 And of course Daniel responds to him, "O king, live forever! 42:50 My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths." 42:54 And I just wanna pause there, 42:56 God knows how to shut the mouths of the lions. 42:58 Amen. 43:00 The Bible says that the devil is a roaring lion 43:03 and he's seeking whom he may devour. 43:04 There may be lions 43:06 that is trying to seek to devour you. 43:08 But if you put your trust in Jesus Christ, 43:11 He will send angels 43:12 to shut those mouths of those lions. 43:14 That's right. 43:15 The truth of the matter is, my friend, 43:16 you see God honors truth. 43:18 He honors honesty 43:20 and while He did not deliver Daniel from the lions' den, 43:24 He did indeed save him through the lion's den. 43:27 So there's something to say here 43:29 about the character of this righteous man 43:31 which by the way, Daniel wasn't perfect. 43:33 The Bible says all have sinned. 43:35 So Daniel was a sinner, 43:36 Daniel needed redemption 43:38 and when Jesus died on the cross, 43:39 Jesus died on the cross for Daniel. 43:41 But Daniel was a righteous man. 43:43 And he was a truthful man. He was an honest man. 43:46 He was not a perfect man by no means, 43:47 but he stood for the principles of God's word 43:50 and I just wanna make an appeal 43:51 in the closing moments that I have, 43:53 you know, in the days and the times 43:54 that we're living in, I can imagine someone, 43:57 in this particular situation today that would say, 43:59 "Well, you know, the Bible does say that, 44:01 you know, we should be obedient to the laws of the land, 44:05 and coming up when they excused 44:06 as to why they should not lose their life, 44:08 because they're praying to their God. 44:09 Daniel saw past the policies, he saw past the laws, 44:14 when laws and policies and regulations, my friends, 44:17 when they come in between or they cause you, 44:20 or lead you to violate biblical principles 44:23 and the plan that God has for your life, 44:24 it is never an excuse to disobey God, 44:28 and to not stand for truth. 44:29 And so, stand for truth. 44:30 We serve a God of truth. 44:32 Jesus said, I am the way the truth and the life. 44:34 And when we adopt 44:36 and we replicate the character of Jesus in our life, 44:39 to be truthful and to be honest in all situations, 44:43 He will shut mouths of lions 44:44 and He would deliver His people in time of need. 44:47 Amen. Amen. 44:49 Thursday's lesson is vindication 44:51 and we're going to be looking 44:52 at a difficult scripture in Daniel 6:24, 44:56 so let me just repeat and enlarge a little. 44:59 It is so obvious how King Darius admired, 45:03 respected and just appreciated Daniel so much. 45:08 You can tell that because of the high position 45:11 to which he was appointed. 45:13 And Daniel served with insight and wisdom 45:16 and he served the king faithfully. 45:19 But he always served the King of kings, 45:24 above the king of the Medes. 45:27 You know, when you think about this, 45:29 Daniel set the standard for Christians 45:33 who serve in public office, did he not? 45:35 That's right. 45:36 He always did what was right, he never did what was wrong, 45:39 he always kept that open communication 45:42 with the Lord. 45:43 So, when it came to as you just said 45:47 whether we're gonna obey the laws of the land 45:49 or the laws of God's law. 45:52 It was no contest for Daniel. 45:55 And even when he knew 45:58 that he could be thrown 46:01 into a life and death situation. 46:06 He's past 80 years of faithfulness. 46:10 It would be no substitute for his present faithfulness 46:13 and here's what I want to say, 46:16 character is not forged 46:21 in adversity, 46:23 character is revealed in adversity. 46:27 So the king had recognized hey, it's envy and jealousy, 46:31 my kingdom is corrupt, right? 46:34 And he's upset 46:38 because he has been tricked. 46:40 I think it's interesting 46:43 that when God and I think you said this, John, 46:47 when God bestows blessings on us, 46:50 it can stir jealousy among others, 46:53 among the wicked. 46:55 And it just goes back to Genesis 3:15, 46:57 that there is enmity between the seed of the serpent 47:02 and the seed of God. 47:04 So here the king is so upset with himself, 47:08 he is mad at these guys who have done this and, 47:13 here's the interesting thing. 47:15 Just like Haman and Mordecai, it backfired. 47:18 Evil deeds often backfire on those who plan cruelty, 47:23 so let's look at what the king is gonna do 47:26 'cause he's gonna turn the tables on him. 47:28 Daniel 6:24, "The king gave the command, 47:31 and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, 47:35 and they cast them into the den of lions, 47:39 them, their children, and their wives, 47:44 and the lions overpowered them, 47:46 and broke all their bones in pieces 47:49 before they ever came to the bottom of the den." 47:52 Now, sadly the Persian law was more cruel 47:56 than almost any other nation's laws. 47:59 And when according to Herodotus the historian, 48:05 on the account of the guilt of one, 48:08 if a man was guilty, 48:09 according to the Persian law, 48:11 his whole family was obliterated. 48:14 So you know, when you think about it, 48:16 wife and children still suffer today 48:18 when a man has done evil, 48:21 I mean they suffer financially, they're shamed, 48:25 all the disgrace that goes with that. 48:28 But I do wanna point out, 48:31 this is not 'cause some people read this and like, 48:34 why would God let this happen? 48:35 Deuteronomy 24:16 48:38 in the covenant law given to Moses, 48:40 here's what God said, 48:42 "Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, 48:45 nor shall the children be put to death for their fathers, 48:49 a person shall be put to death for his own sin." 48:53 So this isn't something that God put a stamp to prove on, 48:57 it just happened. 48:59 So even so God lifted 49:03 His divine restraint from the lions. 49:07 You know, some people say, 49:08 well the reason Daniel didn't get eaten 49:11 is 'cause those are toothless lions, 49:14 they were old, they weren't hungry, 49:17 blah, blah, blah. 49:19 Well, you tell that to princes 49:22 and the governors who were involved, 49:23 because those who brought 49:25 the false charges against Daniel, 49:28 they were, the lions pounced on them 49:32 and they were devoured. 49:34 So, there's always a somber side 49:39 to the salvation of God's people 49:41 when you think about it 49:43 because anytime 49:46 Eve's seed is delivered, 49:51 there's a bruising of the Satan of the serpent's head. 49:54 I like that. 49:55 So, this is when we look at 50:00 Chapters 2, 3 and 4, 50:02 Nebuchadnezzar praise God's, 50:05 Daniel's God in an increasingly reverent way. 50:11 Chapter 5, Belshazzar did not. 50:15 But now in Chapter 6, 50:17 there he is clearly impacted by what God has done, 50:21 so let's look at verse 25 to 27. 50:26 It says, King Darius, 50:29 he's gonna announce a supreme of the word of Daniel's God. 50:33 King Darius, Daniel 6:25 wrote, 50:37 "To all peoples, nations, and languages 50:40 that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied to you. 50:43 I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom 50:47 men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. 50:51 For He is the living God, and steadfast forever, 50:57 His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, 51:01 His dominion shall endure to the end. 51:04 He delivers and rescues, 51:06 and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, 51:10 who has delivered Daniel 51:14 from the power of the lions." 51:19 You know, after God had delivered Shadrach, Meschach, 51:22 and Abednego from the fiery furnace. 51:24 Nebuchadnezzar had written the decree that people had to, 51:29 couldn't say anything against God, right? 51:31 So now we have King Darius 51:35 who is writing this decree. 51:37 And I don't know if Darius was fully convinced, 51:42 he didn't call Him the Most High God, 51:44 he was a polytheist, 51:46 but he did have a respect for God. 51:48 And look at this, let's look back at verse 26 51:52 where he said, mentioned fear and trembled. 51:56 Let's take note of what he says. 51:58 He is the living God. 52:01 So he saw as to his nature, He was an eternal God. 52:05 And then he said, He steadfast forever, 52:08 His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed. 52:11 So he sees God's sovereignty 52:13 and he knows that His kingdom is gonna come to an end. 52:17 So he did see him as unparalled without rival. 52:22 And in verse 27, he says, He delivers and rescues, 52:26 He's a delivering and rescuing God, 52:29 He works signs and wonders 52:31 in the heaven and the earth, Darius said. 52:33 So He's a supernatural miracle working God. 52:37 Even the pagan king could see that. 52:40 So, you know, it's just interesting to me, 52:43 here Daniel is a captive in a strange land, 52:47 but his devotion has a major impact. 52:52 His life was a witness that testified to God's power 52:57 and God can use you in that way too. 52:59 That's right. 53:00 So verse 28 says, 53:01 "So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius 53:06 and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian." 53:10 Following God. 53:13 If we are faithful, and serve Him continually, 53:17 it can be costly. 53:19 But He is Lord of all and over all, 53:24 and He is able to deliver. 53:25 That's right. 53:26 The Bible tells us, 53:28 He gives us the victory in Christ Jesus. 53:33 And so when we are true to God and like Daniel, 53:37 walk in the spirit and show covenant loyalty, 53:42 you know, I love... 53:44 We'll get to this but Daniel said, 53:46 once when he was praying to God, 53:48 "Oh, you are a God who keeps covenant 53:51 with those who keep covenant with you." 53:52 That's right. 53:54 We just have to be like the early church 53:57 when Peter said, you know, we must obey God and not man. 54:03 We should, as Jill said, expect oppositions. 54:08 And you may be walking through a fiery furnace 54:12 right now just like Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego. 54:16 You may feel like 54:18 you've been thrown into the lions' den, 54:22 but I guarantee you, if you would honor God, 54:26 he says, humble yourselves before the Lord. 54:29 He will exalt you. 54:31 In other words, He will lift you up in honor, 54:34 if you honor Him. 54:36 And I think that, 54:38 I always think of like Daniel coming out of the lions' den 54:42 when they roll back the stone. 54:44 What does that make you think 54:46 of when they roll back the stone 54:49 and Jesus came triumphant from the cave? 54:51 That's right. 54:53 Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. 54:54 Amen. Wow, what a study. 54:56 How can you extract so much from one story? 54:59 Even your single verse is amazing. 55:01 Yeah, indeed. 55:02 And we're gonna give each of our panelists 55:04 an opportunity to summarize 55:05 what's on their heart, Pastor Kenny? 55:08 Well, I've been drawing a lot from this, 55:10 you know, God calls some to live for Him 55:13 and God calls some as witnesses to die for Him. 55:17 And so we look either way, God shows that He still rules, 55:20 that He is still in control. 55:22 I just, the question is as is in my heart I'm asking, 55:25 do I love Jesus really enough that I would stand for right, 55:29 what is right even if it costs me, 55:31 as it were your job, if it costs you your family, 55:34 and the bottom line if it costs you your life 55:35 and by the grace of God, that's what we wanna do, 55:39 willing to give our life for Jesus. 55:40 That's right. That's powerful, Pastor Kenny. 55:42 I want that in my own heart and life for sure. 55:46 I think sometimes when you face persecution, 55:50 you can be afraid. 55:52 But I just want to encourage you right now 55:53 not to fear 55:55 because the Lord Jesus is walking beside you. 55:58 He says, "Fear not, for I am with you." 56:01 And He wants to walk 56:03 right beside you through the midst of your trial. 56:06 That's right. 56:07 You know, Daniel went through a time in trouble. 56:10 This was Daniel's time of trouble. 56:12 And we are also, as the Bible tells us 56:15 gonna go through a time of trouble. 56:16 And just as God didn't deliver Daniel from the lions' den 56:21 but saved him through it. 56:23 God will also not deliver us from that time of trouble 56:26 but save us through it, 56:27 and just as God sent the angels 56:29 in to shut the mouths of the lions, 56:31 God will also send angels to us to deliver us through. 56:35 I'm reading Psalms 91:9 through 11," 56:37 Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, 56:40 even the Most High, your dwelling place, 56:42 no evil shall befall you, 56:44 nor shall any plague come near your dwelling, 56:47 For He shall give His angels charge over you, 56:50 to keep you in all your ways." 56:52 Amen. 56:53 I just wanted to read a comment from the lesson, 56:56 from the quarterly. 56:57 And this is what it says, "Yes, Daniel is miraculously saved, 57:01 his faithfulness rewarded, evil punished. 57:03 God's honor and power vindicated." 57:06 But what we see here 57:08 is a many example of what will happen 57:11 on a universal scale. 57:13 God's people delivered, 57:15 evil punished and the Lord vindicated 57:18 before the cosmos. 57:20 Amen. Wow, what a story. 57:21 We have just been blessed. Have we not been blessed? 57:24 Praise the Lord. Yeah. 57:25 You know, I'm a pastor, I like amens, 57:26 can we get an amen? 57:28 Amen. 57:29 Daniel has so much more to unfold to us 57:31 and since I covered the topic on jealousy, 57:33 ponder this thought. 57:35 I modified it some but it says, 57:36 jealousy is the dragon in paradise, 57:39 the darkness in light, and the most bitter of emotions 57:43 in the sweetest of circumstances. 57:45 We pray that the Lord will remove any jealousy 57:48 from your heart. 57:49 Join us next time, 57:50 from the stormy sea to the clouds of heaven, 57:53 God bless you. |
Revised 2020-02-15