Daniel's Den, Part 2

Alright, so let's bow in a word of prayer and then we'll begin.

Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight. The things that you've already taught us this week in our own time with you, things you're going to teach us this evening as you look once again at the book of Daniel. I want to thank you, Lord, for all those who are here tonight. I pray, Lord, that you would bless them richly because they have taken the time to be here. And Lord, our prayer is that you'd use your word in all of our lives. We know that it effectually works in those who believe. You made that very clear in the Bible. And so, Lord, we are asking that your word would take a great effect in all of our lives, that the Spirit of God would be used in a mighty way, that we might be able to see and understand more of all that you have for us. We love you, and we look forward to what you're going to teach us that we might live tomorrow better than we live today because we understand your plan in your promises. In Jesus' name, amen.

You got your Bible? Daniel chapter 6. Daniel chapter 6. The one man in the scriptures that is a prominent man in two world empires. The question is: how did Daniel rise to such a place of prominence? What was it about Daniel's life that made him so appealing to Nebuchadnezzar? Belshazzar? Cyrus? What was it that made him distinguished from everyone else?

Well, the answer to that is twofold, okay? Sovereignly, the other humanly. Sovereignly, it's because of the Lord, right? Because of God, because of deity, the Lord who reigns, he became prominent in two world empires. We know that because the theme of Daniel is the magnificence of the Most High God. El Elyon is mentioned more in the book of Daniel than any other book in the Bible, and he is the Most High God. Well, the magnificence of that God is seen and put on display in the book of Daniel.

And Daniel would remind Belshazzar with these words in chapter 5, verse number 18: "O king, the Most High God, El Elyon, granted sovereignly grandeur, glory, and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father." So he tells Belshazzar that your grandfather was where he was because God did this. He would go on to say down in verse number 21 that the Most High God rulers over the realm of mankind, and that He sets over it whomever He wishes. So Daniel knew that God was in charge of putting people into positions. He wanted Belshazzar to know: listen, your grandfather was the king, was the sovereign ruler of the realm of Babylon because God put him there. And by the way, so are you, Belshazzar. You're here because this is where God put you.

So Daniel's rise to prominence comes about because God in his sovereignty places him in a position of authority. But that does not negate the other side of the coin. If sovereignly it's all about deity, then humanly it's all about discipline, the discipline of the godly man. Very, very important. And what is it that is said about Daniel in the sixth chapter? We covered it last week: that he distinguished himself, verse number three, because he possessed an extraordinary spirit. Something unique about Daniel that he had an extraordinary spirit. And then it says, down in verse number four, that he was faithful. There was no evidence of corruption in him, nothing they could find about him. So it was something about his character, there's something about the discipline of his life.

If you go back to chapter 5, verse number 14, it says that the spirit of the gods is in you. It says in verse number 12 of chapter 5, "This was because an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, and explanation of visions." There was something extraordinary about Daniel that Belshazzar's mother knew, as well as Nebuchadnezzar knew. Note this. It says in chapter 4 that three times, "I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you." Three times Nebuchadnezzar says that. So you see, there's something about Daniel, about his character, that sets him apart because he was a disciplined man. That's why in Daniel 1, verse number 8, he made up his mind not to defile himself with the king's meat.

What did we tell you way back when, when we covered Daniel 1:8? One virtue leads to many victories, okay? That one virtue in Daniel's life, that he would not defile himself, he made up his mind not to defile himself with the king's meat. That virtue led to many victories in his life. And so you have as a habit pattern this Daniel who truly was a man of great character. And so he had a name.

You know, everybody's got a name. Everybody has three names. You know that, right? Everybody in the room has three names. The one your parents gave you, you all have a name that mom and dad gave you at birth, right? So you have a name that your parents gave you. Then, number two, you have a name that your peers will give you. They're going to call you what they want to call you. And then you're going to have a name that the public gives you. How people see you on the outside. All deal with your character. All deal with your reputation.

Now, the key is all three names must be the same, okay? Whether it's at home, with your friends and peers, or your reputation outside of your friends and outside of your family, the name that they give you. With Daniel, it was always the same. Everybody saw him as one who had the spirit of the holy gods within him. Everybody saw him as one with an extraordinary spirit. Everybody saw him as one who was faithful. And we're going to see later on tonight that Cyrus says that he was faithful and continually serving his God. So everything about Daniel rings the same, whether it's in one empire under Nebuchadnezzar or another empire under Cyrus, or under another ruler in Babylon, Belshazzar, they all say the same thing because they all see the same thing. And for 80 plus years, this was the man's life. 80 plus years. And everybody in two realms, in two major kingdoms, saw the same thing about the same man. That's what separates Daniel from everybody else. That's why he was distinguished among everybody else. And God used him.

So, last week, as we closed out the first 14 verses of Daniel chapter 6, we talked to you about how is it you develop that kind of name. That name that your parents give you, that your peers give you, that the public gives you, all rings the same because you live the same life everywhere you go. You don't live a different life at church than you do at work, than you do at play, than you do at home. It's always the same. So you want your wife to say the same thing about you that your church friends say about you. That the people you go to work with tomorrow say about you. Everything must ring the same. Because if it doesn't, there's hypocrisy someplace in your life, right? There's something different you are, some different way you're behaving in one location versus another. With Daniel, it was the same everywhere he went.

And so we told you last week, that kind of name, that kind of character is conceived in spirituality. It all begins with your faith in God. It all begins with believing in the Lord God of Israel. And Daniel did. I mean, think about this. Daniel was one who truly believed in his God. He was committed to his God, so much so that when the king came down with the edict, he still was going to pray to his God. We know in Daniel 9, he has this huge, long prayer that tells us about how he prayed and what he knew when he prayed about God. This man had true faith in God. Well, to have the kind of character that Daniel has, you must be a born-again believer. You must be a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. You must understand that my faith in God determines the character of my life, right? So it's conceived in spirituality, but number two, it's conditioned by theology.

It's conditioned by theology. What do I believe about God? How do I study God? What do I know about God? Everything in Daniel's life was centered around El Elyon, the Most High God. Daniel would read the book of Jeremiah. We know that when we get into Daniel chapter 9, because he's reading the book of Jeremiah, and he knows about the 70 years of captivity, and that time is almost up, so we know he reads, right? We know that he probably understood a lot about the stone we talked about from Genesis chapter 49, verse number 25, and the stone that would come and destroy the image of Nebuchadnezzar's colossal dream. So we begin to see these things unfold before us because this man had a theology that was proper. He understood God's sovereignty. He understood God's character. He understood what he needed to do in light of that.

Because you see, that's very important. He understood prophecy, right? Daniel was a man of great prophecy. Next week, when we get to Daniel chapter 7, we're going to begin to unfold for you the coming of the great king of the universe. In Daniel chapter 7, it's a marvelous text to show you the rest of the history of the world. So, Nick, you come next week, and we're going to tell you from the life of Daniel all the way to the very end, okay? So you can know everything you need to know about from this day forward to the end when Jesus comes again. Because Daniel had that vision because God gave it to him. And he gave it to him during the reign of Belshazzar. So he knows about these things. He understands prophecy. He understands his God. And how many times have we told you? The clearer you see the future, the cleaner you stand in the present. So important. Never forget that. The clearer you see the future, the cleaner you stand in the present.

Why do we sin so much? We sin because we've lost a glimpse of the coming king. We've lost our focus from the arrival of the king. Well, Daniel, Daniel's character was conceived in spirituality. It was conditioned by theology. And we're not talking about having information about God. We're not talking about having lots of knowledge about God in terms of a lot of facts and information. We're talking about having God rub off on you in such a way it goes beyond information to conformation. Very important. There are a lot of people, and I've known them over the years, who have a lot of information about God. They have more information and more Bible verses memorized than I ever have. And yet they have not yet been conformed to the image of God. So that God, their knowledge of God, rubs off on them. It affects the way they speak, the way they live, the way they pray, the way they share their faith. It affects everything about them. And Daniel was conditioned by his theology, okay? That's where we left off last week.

Let me give you the rest of those before we dive back into Daniel chapter 6. Number three, not only was Daniel's character conceived in spirituality and conditioned by theology, his character was committed to purity, committed to purity. He wanted to live a pure life. That's why he said, "I'm not going to defile myself with the king's meat." That's why it says in Daniel 6, he had an extraordinary spirit. That's why those on the outside could not find out anything about Daniel's life inside or outside. There was nothing about his character that would be a flaw. They couldn't find anything. Now, just think about that. They were looking for something that they could accuse him of, but they couldn't find anything. The man was squeaky clean. He was so clean on the inside, it affected everything on the outside. So they had to find something against his God. And that's what they pursued. And so this man was committed to purity.

Listen, if you want a life that's characterized by an extraordinary spirit that's characterized as one who has a spirit of the holy gods within him, characterized as a person who walks and talks with God, you must be committed to living a pure and holy life. That is just absolutely important. Remember what the Bible says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verse number 3. Paul says these words: "For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor." That's discipline, right? That's discipline. Know how to possess your own vessel as that which is set apart unto God for His purposes. And then it says, "not in a lustful passion, like the Gentiles, who do not know God, and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before, and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. So he who rejects this is not rejecting man, but the God who gives the Holy Spirit to you."

God has called us for a purpose, and that's to live a pure and holy life. Well, on our end, we are disciplined to maintain a pure and holy life. Remember over in 1 Timothy chapter 4, Paul says this to young Timothy in 1 Timothy 4, verse number 7. He says, "Have nothing to do with worldly fables, fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. For bodily discipline is only for a little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come."

In other words, you need to practice discipline. Timothy, you need to discipline yourself toward godliness. Notice what he says in verse number 12 of that same chapter. He says, "Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe."

Listen, if you don't discipline yourself unto godliness, you cannot demonstrate God to anybody. If you don't discipline yourself unto godliness, you cannot demonstrate God to anybody. That's why he says, "Discipline yourself unto godliness first." Now he says, "I want you to show yourself an example." Because you're in the process of living a disciplined life, now you can be an example to everybody when it comes to your love. When it comes to your faith, when it comes to your speech, when it comes to your purity, now people can see who you are because on the inside there's been this discipline that affects everything you are on the outside.

He was committed to purity, Daniel was. And that's what gave him a distinguished spirit, an extraordinary spirit, a unique individual. He was committed to purity. Would it be that every one of us would do likewise.

Number four. Oh, by the way, Job. Remember Job? In the fall, we're going to study the life of Job. Job, it says in verse number one, was a blameless, upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil. That's the way we should be. Upright, God-fearing, and turning away from all forms of evil.

Number four, if you want to live a life that's like Daniel, you've got to be clothed in humility. That was Daniel. Daniel wasn't looking for a place, a position of prominence. He wasn't looking to be the head honcho in Babylon or in the Medo-Persian Empire. I mean, when Belshazzar was having his feast, they had to go get Daniel because he wasn't going to hobnob with all the bigwigs in Babylon. He wasn't looking for an upper hand. He wasn't looking for handouts. He wasn't looking for a way to be seen all the more, right? He was living behind the scenes. In fact, the less he was seen, the better in his mind.

Don't you wish that we could live like that? We so desperately want to be seen. We so desperately want to be recognized that we'll do everything we can to put ourselves on the front page so everybody can see our face, so they can know what we're doing. But Daniel, he was on the back page. I'm not sure that if Daniel lived today, he'd have social media. I don't think he would. I think he'd stay off that altogether. Because it wasn't about him. It was all about God. Like John the Baptist, "He must increase, I must decrease." Wouldn't that be good if that was stamped across your forehead? "Today I'm going to decrease so God can increase." That's what Daniel was. He wasn't looking to be a leader, but God made him a leader. Because of his character and God's sovereignty, wanting a man to be a spokesperson for the living God in a pagan kingdom. That's what God wanted for Daniel.

Over in 1 Peter chapter 5, you remember these words? Peter says this: "You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders, and all of you clothe yourself with humility toward one another. For God has opposed the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you at the proper time."

That's what Daniel did. He was always exalted at the proper time. God exalted him when it was the due time, the right time. He wasn't trying to be exalted. He wasn't looking for the avenue by which he could rise to a place of prominence. He was waiting for God to do the work. Why? Because he was so busy humbling himself under the mighty hand of God. Remember the mighty hand of God, a phrase used specifically in the Old Testament to deal with two things about God: the hand of his discipline and the hand of Israel's destiny, right? Well, where was Daniel? He was in Babylon. This was his destiny, right? He was taken into the first deportation to Babylon when he was 16 years of age. But he had to submit himself under God's mighty hand of discipline for a nation and the destiny for this individual. And he did. He humbled himself under that hand, and God exalted him at the proper time. That's what God does. And so we need to understand that to have a distinguished spirit like Daniel, you must be clothed in humility.

Listen to what A.W. Pink says. He says, "The more I am occupied with Christ, the less shall I be occupied with myself. Humility is not a product of direct cultivation. Rather, it is a byproduct." What he's saying is that humility is a byproduct of Christ's likeness. So, I become more preoccupied with Christ than I am with myself. See, that's hard for a lot of us. We don't want to be preoccupied with anything else other than us. But in order to live a humble life, you've got to be so preoccupied with Christ, you can think like Christ, act like Christ, because He is the ultimate servant. Philippians chapter 2, He is the ultimate one who explains to us humility. That's our Lord, and he was the God of the universe. And yet, he was the humble servant that modeled to us how to live our lives.

Well, Daniel. He wanted his God to increase. He knew that he served El Elyon, and he knew that he was under the hand of the mighty God of Israel. And that God would exalt him at the proper time if God chose to. And God did. You don't submit yourself so that God exalts you. You submit yourself because that's what you're commanded to do. And if God chooses to exalt you, He will. And if He doesn't, that's okay. The problem is, for most of us, it's not okay. Because our motive is wrong. We want to say we're submitting ourselves under the mighty hand of God, but don't like where we're at, or don't like how long God's taking. God takes too long to exalt me. So I find a way to go myself around to look for ways to exalt myself so people recognize me and I can rise to a place of prominence. Not Daniel. He was clothed with humility, committed to purity, conditioned by theology, conceived in spirituality, and consumed with authenticity.

He was consumed with authenticity, honesty, transparency. That's why they couldn't find anything in him or anything about him. They knew him. They knew him inside and out. He wasn't hiding anything. What you saw every day when Daniel walked the streets was exactly who he was. How Daniel was in Nebuchadnezzar's court was exactly how he was in Cyrus' court. How he was when he opened his windows to pray is the same man that lived every single day, and they all knew it. He was consumed with authenticity. He didn't want to be a hypocrite. He didn't want people to think he was one way versus another way. He wanted everybody to see the same guy wherever he went. He was consumed with authenticity.

I love what the Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 2 when it talks about Paul's ministry. He says, "For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain. But after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know" - in other words, you know this. He goes on to say, "We proved to be gentle among you as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become so dear to us. For this you recall, brethren, our labor, our hardship, how working night and day, so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers, just as you know."

He emphasizes, "You know this. You saw this. You understand this." Why? Because when we came to you, we were authentic. We weren't hypocrites. We didn't try to hide stuff from you. We wanted you to know us as men of God who are here to serve the living God, and in so doing, we're serving you. Well, that was Daniel. He was consumed with authenticity. That's the way he distinguished himself among everyone else. And God used him, and God exalted him.

So, the person who is conceived, whose character is conceived in spirituality, conditioned by theology, committed to purity, clothed with humility, consumed with authenticity will be commemorated in his family and for all eternity. Will be commemorated in his family and for all eternity. The memory of the righteous will be remembered forever. The Bible says in Psalm 112, verse number 6, "The righteous will be remembered forever." Proverbs 22:1, "A good name is more desired than great riches." The Bible says in Proverbs chapter 20, verse number 7: "A righteous man who walks in his integrity, how blessed are his sons after him." He'll be commemorated in his family and for all eternity.

The Bible says, "The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot." The name of the wicked will rot. I love what it says in the book of Ecclesiastes, the 8th chapter. It says in verse number 10, "So then I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, and they are soon forgotten in the city where they did thus." In other words, I observed that these people who were famous because they wanted to be famous, and they went to the holy place. They even showed a semblance of religion, right? Solomon says they were soon forgotten in the city. Fame is so fleeting, it never lasts. A name lasts, fame does not. The name represents character. The fame represents the things that you do. But name is about character. And Solomon says very clearly: these people that I knew who are now dead, who came to the holy place along with me - in other words, in modern action, they went to church with me, but they were evil, they were wicked - and their names will no longer be remembered. He says, "This too is futility." What does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his own soul, right?

"Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil." Think about that in today's culture. Because we don't execute judgment quickly, the hearts of men run to do evil, and they just keep doing more and more evil. "Although a sinner does evil a hundred times, it may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear him openly. But it will not be well for the evil man, and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God."

Daniel's name in the Hall of Faith is commemorated for eternity because he was a man who loved his God and served his God and followed his God. That's the way we need to be. That's what gave him a distinguishing spirit.

So let's go back to Daniel chapter 6 and let's continue the story of the lions in Daniel's den. It's such a great story. We grew up reading the story and learning about it all the time, but there's so many things that we miss. Now you remember the story? Daniel had distinguished himself and he was by Cyrus made the leader of all the satraps and all the magicians and all the conjurers and the king's court, Daniel was the leader. Well, the unbelievers didn't like that, and so they were looking for a way to discredit him. They couldn't find anything about him or in him, so they had to go against his God. So they made this decree. They went to the king and said, "Let's make a decree that if anybody bows down and prays to another God or to another man, they should be cast into the lion's den." And the king said, "Great. Good idea. Let's do that." So they made this decree, right?

Daniel finds out about the decree, but what does he do? He doesn't back away from it. He doesn't say, "You know what? I'm not going to do this." Now, the decree was just for 30 days. Just for 30 days. That's it. And Daniel could have said, "You know what? I can pray someplace else for 30 days." No. "Maybe I won't pray for thirty days." No. Daniel was going to disobey the decree because the decree was against his God. And he wasn't going to disobey his God in order to obey the government. He knew that. He wasn't going to do that. And yet, he also knew the price to pay. He knew the cost involved. Very, very important to the story. I'm going to give you a phrase in a few minutes that you need to understand about the story. That if you miss it, you miss the story. You miss the meaning behind what God wants you to see.

You need to understand that Daniel was not afraid. Daniel was not concerned about the lion's den. He wasn't concerned about losing his life. He was more concerned about losing his integrity than losing his life. More concerned about losing his ministry than losing his life. More concerned about his testimony than losing his life. That's what consumed the man. And he wanted to honor his God, he wanted to please his God. Because he was in Babylon to serve his God. Now he's in the Medo-Persian Empire and he wants to serve his God.

So they spy on him. And soon, as soon as they see him fly open the shutters and begin to pray toward Jerusalem, because that's what they did. It was symbolic of the presence of the Lord of God, and all the Jews would pray toward the Holy Temple, toward the holy place, toward Jerusalem. That's what he was doing. As always, didn't change anything. Just because the government said he couldn't do it, it made him all the more ready to do it. Which is the way it should be for every one of us as well.

And so, in verse 14, it says, "Then, as soon as the king heard this statement, he was deeply distressed." What was that? They went to the king, "Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah" - that's how they called him. They referred to him as an exile from Judah. This was almost 70 years earlier. It's a long time ago, right? They're digging up the past. "He pays no attention to you, O king, or to the injunction which you signed, but keeps making his petition three times a day." As soon as the king heard this statement, he was deeply distressed. "Set his mind on delivering Daniel, and even until sunset, he kept exerting himself to rescue him."

He's trying to figure out a way to get out of this. He's trying to figure out a way: how can I make this not happen? You see, here's something that you need to realize concerning this story. Man has always tried to pass laws that will prohibit religious freedom. Not just today. In Daniel's day. Because Satan doesn't want the believer to flourish. He doesn't want the church to succeed. And so there's always been laws and decrees that have been passed to keep people from doing what God's called them to do. And that's going to grow with ever intensity as time goes on. And we're going to see this in Daniel seven and Daniel eight as we proceed through the book. You're going to see about the rise of the Antichrist and how God is going to allow him to do what it is he's going to do. So we're going to see that. But here was a man who was unafraid.

So the king, the king is trying to figure out a way, "How can I get out of this?" Cyrus loves Daniel. The unbeliever sees something in Daniel that's so unique, he wants to get out of the law he decreed. But he can't. So it says, "Then these men came by agreement to the king." This is the third time that they come together by agreement, okay? Third time. They want to emphasize that for you because they were all after Daniel. Of course, Daniel wasn't a part of the all. He was left out because they were against him.

"Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, 'Recognize, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or statute which the king establishes may be changed.' Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lion's den. The king spoke and said to Daniel," - listen to this - "Your God, whom you constantly serve, will himself deliver you."

Daniel's life was so committed to his God that a pagan king would recognize that Daniel's God had the power to deliver him. How great is that? So here is Daniel. Now, now understand that this lion's den is on top of a hill, right? A mound. Down below is an opening to the cave, which is with bars, and the lions are let in that way. But on top of the mound is an open pit that you drop that person down into upon his execution, and then you can also watch the execution take place as the lions feast on someone's flesh, right?

Now remember. Remember, there's not two or three lions down there. The place is packed with lions, and they're all hungry. You don't feed them. You want them to be hungry, right? So they devour the flesh. And we're going to see in a minute when everybody else is thrown into the lion's den, they never get to the floor. They never make it to the floor. We're talking men, women, and children because they kill their whole families. Their whole families are brought into the lion's den. But they never make it to the floor because they're devoured before they get there. That's how many lions are in the lion's den.

And so it says very clearly that the king puts him in - listen, the king is going to kill the most popular man in the kingdom. The king is going to kill the most godly man in the kingdom. They're going to put to death the man who influences the kingdom more than anybody else. That's where they're at. And so, Daniel, Daniel was not afraid. He knew this was the result. He knew he'd be cast into the lion's den, but he also knew about his God's protection. He knew that God would preserve some way, somehow, him. He knew, I firmly believe he knew, Psalm 5, verse number 11: "Let all who take refuge in you be glad. Let them ever sing for joy, and may you shelter them, that those who love your name may exalt you. For it is you who bless the righteous man, O Lord. You surround him with favor as with a shield."

My guess is Daniel knew Psalm 5. My guess is Daniel knew Psalm 6, verse number 10: "All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly dismayed. They suddenly turn back. They will suddenly be ashamed." Psalm 7: "O Lord, my God, in you I have taken refuge. Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me or he will tear my soul like a lion, dragging me away while there is none to deliver." Psalm 9, verse number 9: "The Lord also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name will put their trust in you. For you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you."

God is a stronghold. God is a shield. God is a refuge. And then it says over in Psalm 17: "O Savior of those who take refuge at your right hand, from those who rise up against them, keep me as the apple of the eye. Hide me in the shadow of your wings." Chapter 18, verse number 1: "I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies."

The psalmist knew about God being a stronghold, a refuge, a shield, a horn representing the strength of an animal. He knew this about his God. Now here's what you need to understand about the story. If you miss this, you miss the story. Daniel was not concerned about protecting himself or preserving his life. He was only consumed with portraying the one who could protect his life and preserve his life. Did you get that? We get consumed with protecting ourselves, don't we? We do everything we can to preserve our life. We'll go to whatever means necessary to make sure I don't die, I don't get sick, I don't get hurt, right? I'm not saying you should go out and just do whatever you want. I'm just saying we do whatever we can to preserve and protect our lives.

But are we truly portraying the God who is the protector and preserver of our life? There's a big difference there. And here was Daniel who said, "You know what? The consequences are death. The consequences are the lion's den. But you know what? I'm here to do one thing, not protect me. Not to preserve me. Why? Because in the grand scheme of things, my life just doesn't matter. So what am I going to do? I'm going to portray the God who can protect me. I'm going to show them the God who preserves life. He is the God who possesses life. He is the God who preserves life. He's the God who protects life. So if I can show people who He is, my life's irrelevant."

That's what you got to learn from the story. Because that's how Daniel lived his life. That's why he wasn't afraid. That's why he wasn't cowering in a corner. That's why he decided not to pray in another location. That's why he continued to do what he always did. Why? He just wanted to portray the God who could protect him and preserve him. We're so busy trying to protect our lives that we don't effectively portray the God who protects them. We really think we can protect ourselves better than God can protect us. We really think we can preserve ourselves better than God can preserve us. You can't. Quit trying. Let God do that. Just portray your God. How do you do that? By faithfully trusting Him. And that's what Daniel does.

Let me show you. Back to Daniel chapter 6. Daniel chapter 6. So it says, "Your God, whom you constantly serve, will himself deliver you. A stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet ring of the nobles, so that nothing would be changed in regard to Daniel. Then the king went off to his palace and spent the night fasting, and no entertainment was brought before him, and his sleep fled from him." He was miserable. He was absolutely miserable. He did not want this to happen.

"Then the king arose at dawn, at the break of day, and went in haste to the lion's den. And when he had come near to the den, to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, 'Daniel, servant of the living God.'" He calls him the living God. "'Has your God' - here's the phrase again - 'whom you constantly serve' - again, he says it. The night before, 'the God you constantly serve will deliver you.' 'Daniel, has the living God, the God you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lions?'"

That's the question. You see, he doesn't see Daniel, so he has to ask Daniel because there are so many lions in the lion's den, he can't see Daniel. And so Daniel spoke to the king, "O king, live forever." No vengeance in his heart and mind. "O king, live forever. My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, inasmuch as I was found innocent before him, and also towards you, O king, I have committed no crime."

"Then the king was very pleased, and gave orders for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him because he had trusted in his God." I mean, there wasn't any nibbling of the flesh. There probably wasn't even a hair of a lion upon him. I mean, remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they didn't even smell of smoke, right? When they came out of the fiery pit, right? Well, here is Daniel. He's brought up out of the pit, and there was nothing that harmed him. He was completely unharmed, uninhibited, uninjured in any way, shape, or form. Because God has sent his angel to protect him. Because he trusted his God. He trusted the God who could protect him. He trusted the God who could preserve him. He trusted the God who was the possessor of life, preserver of life, and God spared his life. That was Daniel's protection.

We've seen the plot or the promotion, the plot, the prayer, the prosecution, the protection. Now, I want you to see the penalty upon his accusers. Verse 24. "Then the king gave orders, and they brought those men who had maliciously accused Daniel, and they cast them, their children, and their wives into the lion's den. And they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones."

Wow! Think about that. They didn't even get to the bottom until they were completely crushed. They were ravished. Those lions not being able to touch the flesh of Daniel, but could smell the flesh of Daniel - because the angel protected him, God had shielded him - could hardly wait for the next meal. And the next meal came in the form of women, children, and men. Their whole families suffered because they were maliciously trying to destroy the one man, the one man who was the most prominent in two world empires. And God killed them.

Remember Proverbs 11, verse number 8? Mark it down. "The righteous is delivered from trouble, but the wicked takes his place." Isn't that good? That's so good. The righteous, but the wicked takes his place. Daniel's delivered from trouble. But who takes his place? All those wicked people who tried to destroy his life. Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap.

Now, I want you to look at the proclamation of Darius. This is so rich. Listen to this. "Then Darius, the king, wrote to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language who were living in all the land: 'May your peace abound. I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel.'" Wow. Listen. The chapter began with a new ruler. The chapter ends with a new religion. The new ruler is Cyrus in the Medo-Persian Empire. The religion now is the religion of Daniel. "I want everybody to know that in this land, in this dominion of my kingdom, you must learn to fear the God of Daniel. You better fear the God of Daniel because He's a protector, He provides. For he is the living God." Wow, what a testimony. "He's alive. That's no dead God. That's no dead idol. He's the living God and endures forever. And his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, and his dominion will be forever. He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions."

What a statement. What a statement. You will never hear that from the White House. I'm sorry. I wish you could hear that from the White House. Not going to hear that. But that's what should be said from the White House. That's what Darius said. I mean, Darius, yeah, who is the king, Cyrus, that's what he said. This needs to happen.

So, "This Daniel, look at this, enjoyed success in the reign of Darius, and even in the reign of Cyrus the Persian." Now notice. In verse 23, he trusted his God. In verse 28, he rose once again to a place of prominence. Listen to Proverbs 28, verse number 25: "He who trusts in the Lord shall prosper." That was Daniel. He who trusts in the Lord shall prosper. The Bible is very clear. He trusted his God.

What God did he trust? The living God. He wasn't concerned about preserving his life or protecting his life. We need to stop doing that, my friends. Please stop doing that. And start portraying the one who protects and preserves your life. That's what Daniel did. That's the way he lived his life, right? And what did God do? Preserved him? Protected him? And now his testimony becomes so great, the king has a new religion. "You got to serve the God of Daniel. You got to bow before his God, this powerful, providential ruler, this living God. He is the real deal. I've seen it with my own eyes. He preserved Daniel."

I like that phrase. "This Daniel," what a statement. This guy, right here. This man who trusted in his God. As Proverbs 28 says, is now going to prosper. And you move to the very next chapter. And you begin to see all the things that God is doing in and through this man.

Notice the phrase that Cyrus said: "Has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lion's den? Is your God able?" Well, the Bible says that our God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ever ask or think. That's how able our God is, right? He's able to shield you because he did Daniel. Is your God able? Yes. My God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you can even begin to imagine, King Cyrus. Your God is able to save you because Hebrews 7:25 says he is able to save you to the uttermost. How able is your God? He's able to save you completely. He's able to shield you completely. On top of that, he is able to supply every one of your needs. And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed. 2 Corinthians 9.

Wow. God is able. It's in the realm of giving, right? To the church. Think about this. What better time to give to the Lord than during this time, right? With all the rise in prices in gas and meat and toilet paper and paper towels and everything's rising in prices, guess what you do? You just keep giving to the Lord. Why? Because our God is able to supply more than sufficiently. Overabundantly. The worst thing you can do in the midst of this time in our lives is to stop giving to the Lord. You want to lose the blessing of God? Stop giving. You want to receive the blessing from God? You just keep giving. God will supply your needs, He'll take care of you.

But you see, it goes back to thinking, "Hey, you know what? I can preserve and protect my life if I don't give as much, right? I can preserve and protect my home if I don't give as much. The recession, I mean. The inflation is so bad that I got to save more money. So, in case it gets worse, I'm not going to give anything to the church because I got to preserve and protect that which is mine." You missed the whole story of Daniel 6. Do you portray the one who protects and preserves and supplies and cares for you? Or are you so busy supplying for your own needs and taking care of your own self that you just forget about your God? Our God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ever ask or think.

He's able to save, supply, shield. Oh, he's able to sustain. Listen to Jude 24: "Now, to him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, blameless with great joy." Only God can sustain you because He's able. He's able to sustain, supply, shield, save. Oh, by the way, He's able to satisfy.

Remember the story in Matthew's Gospel? "As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying out, 'Have mercy on us, son of David!' When he entered the house, the blind men came up to him. And Jesus said to them, 'Do you believe that I am able to do this?'" He asked them, "We know God is able, right? Daniel chapter 6. Just read you several verses of the New Testament: God's able, right? Do you believe that I'm able?" That's the question. Do you believe that God's able? "They said to him, 'Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord.' They touched their eyes, saying, 'It shall be done to you according to your faith.' And their eyes were opened." God is able to satisfy whatever need that you have just because he's able.

The question is, do you trust him? Because those who put their trust in God will prosper. Daniel is the illustration of that. May we live our lives accordingly.