DWDP: Daniel in the Lion's Den – Embracing Trust and Righteousness in Our Spiritual Walk
Mar 13, 2024Season 2Episode 202
Dr. Robert E. Jackson
Discover how faith and courage can resonate with your own spiritual journey, as we wrap up our study on Daniel in the lion's den. Feel the tension of a king's sleepless night and the elation of Daniel's miraculous preservation, emerging unscathed among the beasts. This isn't just a story from the past; it's a vibrant lesson about the power of trust in the divine, and how our own worthiness is not tied to our deeds but to the righteousness we receive through Jesus. As we explore these themes, we realize that carrying a clear conscience is not just about living rightly, but being empowered by the Holy Spirit to walk boldly in our purpose.
Gratitude floods this episode as I thank you, our devoted listeners, for journeying with us through these devotional insights. Your participation is more than just listening; it's about sharing this faith-affirming content and nurturing the seeds of belief in your community. As we anticipate the blessings that our next encounter will bring, remember that the teachings and heartfelt messages we've shared are just a click away. Visit our website and follow us on social media to stay connected with the Jackson Family Ministry, and join us again for another enriching session of More Than Medicine, where we aim to nourish your soul as much as your mind.
Discover how faith and courage can resonate with your own spiritual journey, as we wrap up our study on Daniel in the lion's den. Feel the tension of a king's sleepless night and the elation of Daniel's miraculous preservation, emerging unscathed among the beasts. This isn't just a story from the past; it's a vibrant lesson about the power of trust in the divine, and how our own worthiness is not tied to our deeds but to the righteousness we receive through Jesus. As we explore these themes, we realize that carrying a clear conscience is not just about living rightly, but being empowered by the Holy Spirit to walk boldly in our purpose.
Gratitude floods this episode as I thank you, our devoted listeners, for journeying with us through these devotional insights. Your participation is more than just listening; it's about sharing this faith-affirming content and nurturing the seeds of belief in your community. As we anticipate the blessings that our next encounter will bring, remember that the teachings and heartfelt messages we've shared are just a click away. Visit our website and follow us on social media to stay connected with the Jackson Family Ministry, and join us again for another enriching session of More Than Medicine, where we aim to nourish your soul as much as your mind.
Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more than enough for the ills that plague our culture and our country. Hosted by author and physician, dr Robert Jackson.
Speaker 2:
Papa, can you tell me a story? Do you really want me to tell you a story? Well, you go, get your brother and your sisters and I will tell you a story. Welcome to Devotions with Dr Papa. Grab your bibles and gather around and let us look into the written word, which reveals to us the living word, which is our Lord Jesus Christ. This week we're finishing up the second of a two-part study on Daniel, chapter 6. And last week, when we finished, daniel had just been cast into the lion's den.
Speaker 2:
King Darius was distressed and tried to deliver Daniel from the lion's den, all to no avail. And that leads us, or leads us up, to a disgruntled royal official. We're in Daniel, chapter 6, and we're at verse 18. And the Bible tells us that 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. Now you understand that every night, a king, a royal official like Darius, would have a great feast attended by probably hundreds of people. There would be entertainment singers, dancers, jugglers, trapeze artists, there would be all manner of entertainment that would be brought before the king every night of the year. But this night, darius was so distressed that his friend, the high ranking commissioner, daniel, had been thrown into the lion's den, that he canceled everything on the schedule and he didn't eat supper. He went straight to bed and the Bible tells us that sleep fled from him. He had insomnia for the whole night. This was a very disgruntled royal official, and then, in verses 19 to 22, we see a delivered servant of God. Then the king arose at dawn, at the break of day, and went in haste to the lion's den. When he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel Daniel, servant of the living God, as your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lions. Then Daniel spoke to the king O king, live forever. My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouths, and they have not harmed me in as much as I was found innocent before him and also towards you, o king, I have committed no crime. Well, pay close attention, because the king's second hand hearsay confidence in the true God is about to become first hand and personal.
Speaker 2:
You and I understand the God factor. You and I understand the G factor. These advisors, these conspirators, did not calculate into the equation the G factor. And you have to understand that they never do. And we must ask ourselves a question why? Why do lost people never calculate into the equation the God factor?
Speaker 2:
Well, 1 Corinthians, chapter 2, in verse 14, tells us why. It says that the natural man, the natural man, is a lost man. The natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of God because they're foolishness to him. Neither can he understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Now, as a spiritual man, as a Christian, you understand the God factor because you have the spirit of God within you. The lost man does not have the spirit of God and is spiritually blind. He doesn't have spiritual eyes to see and he doesn't understand that God both vindicates and validates his faithful servants like Daniel.
Speaker 2:
Daniel had a clear conscience before God and before the king, and he made that declaration very plain. There's no fear in a Christian's heart when they have a clear conscience before God and man. Which leads us to our sixth question to ponder Do you have a clear conscience before God and man? Now, why is that an important question? Well, it's because, as I look at Christian folks around me, I realize that one of the major limiting factors to Christian ministry is that folks do not have a clear conscience before God and man, and I hear this statement all the time.
Speaker 2:
When people are called to be involved in Christian ministry, they say I'm just not worthy. And what they mean by that is that they have shame in their Christian life because of previous sin in their past. Now you understand that. The Bible tells us that Jesus took our sin and our. You got it, our shame. Jesus took our sin and our shame. Now that's a beautiful thing once we fully understand it and fully accept it, because we really can't get off the Christian ministry wagon by whining and saying I'm unworthy because Jesus took our sin and our shame. And the other side of the coin is that he gave us his righteousness as a free gift. Now, if you think about it logically, when are you ever going to be worthy for Christian ministry? I'm not going to ever be worthy and, dear friend, you're not going to ever be worthy.
Speaker 2:
In 1st Corinthians, the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is our sufficiency. You see, jesus is my sufficiency. He's the one who makes me capable to serve in Christian ministry. So do you have a clear conscience before God and man? Well, if you don't, then you may have to do some confessing. First you confess to God and if necessary, then you go and confess to some of the folks in your life and then, once that is done, don't go back there again. You walk in righteousness with a clear conscience and then you allow Holy Spirit to adequately make you sufficient for Christian ministry. All right, let's move on. Next thing I want us to see is a delighted king. In verse 23,. This king was extremely delighted. 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. So this king was pleased, he was delighted. There was no injury found on Daniel and the Bible tells us exactly why because he had trusted in his God.
Speaker 2:
In Psalms, chapter 40, go back to the book of Psalms, in chapter 40 and the Bible tells us very specifically in verses 4 and 5 how blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust, just like Daniel, and has not turned to the proud nor to those who lapse into falsehood. Many, oh Lord, my God, are the wonders which you have done and your thoughts toward us. There's none to compare with you. If I would declare and speak of them, there would be too numerous to count. Go back to that very first verse. How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust. You see, that's Daniel. That's describing Daniel exactly, a man who has put his trust in the Lord. Oh, that that would be true of you and me. So that leads me to my next question Do you trust in your God and what evidence is there of it?
Speaker 2:
The New Testament equates faith and obedience. The New Testament equates faith and obedience. You remember, james said I will show you my faith by my works. Ha ha ha. You see, brothers and sisters, when we are faithful Christians, we are obedient Christians, and I'm just going to tell you honestly, I pray all the time and I say, lord, show me anywhere that I'm not being fully obedient to you, because I just, I'm just very careful that I don't want to be a arrive at the kingdom one day and have to look at him and say well, lord, I'm sorry, I just didn't understand that I was supposed to do that. You see, I want to be a fully obedient Christian, and there are things in the Bible that we're supposed to do to be obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ. And when you read through your Bible anytime the Bible says you're not supposed to do something, then you check it off and say okay, how and where am I doing this? Faith and obedience are equated in the Bible. Do you trust in your God? Don't be doing so with lip service, but do so with action. Alright, move along.
Speaker 2:
Verse 24, we see a very vindictive king. Look at verse 24. The king then 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. Oh, my goodness, this king wasn't playing around, was he? You see, wicked men do not always receive justice in this life, but in this biblical account they certainly did. That moves us, then, to verse 25 through verse 28, I believe it is and we see a humble and honest king. So let's move on.
Speaker 2:
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, for he is the living God and enduring 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? So this Daniel enjoyed success in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Well, you see, this humble and honest king declared that God's kingdom would be an everlasting dominion.
Speaker 2:
Understand first, though, that Darius's kingdom extended all the way from the Middle East to India, and here was a guy who was. He was one of the great lords of the earth, and his kingdom was vast. And then he issues this royal decree and declares that Daniel's God is a living God, that his kingdom endures forever, that God himself endured forever, that he delivers and performs signs and wonders both in the heavens and in the earth, and that he delivered Daniel from the power of the lion. Daniel didn't deliver himself. Daniel's God delivered him. And that leads me to the eighth question. When God looks into your heart, does he see humility and honesty? Remember God resists the proud and he gives grace to the humble. Now let's move on. Recall that.
Speaker 2:
The New Testament tells us that these things were written as examples for our instruction. All of these Old Testament stories were written why? As examples for our instruction. So what do we learn from Daniel, god's man in Babylon? Well, I have several insights that I want to share with us. First, understand clearly that you and I live in a post-Christian, secular, mostly pagan culture with a thin veneer of Christianity. Secular humanism, which makes man the measure of truth rather than God's Word being the measure of objective truth, is the prevailing worldview in America today. Number two if you do not bow down to the 90-foot tall statue of secular humanism, then, whether you like it or not, you're the last man standing when everybody else bows down to the secular, humanistic statue and suddenly you've been appointed as God's prophet in your small town. Number three if you speak the truth about the moral issues of the day, like abortion or homosexuality or transgenderism or any such thing, then the magicians, the conjurers, the commissioners and the set wraps will do their very best to bring false charges against you. Number four never forget that integrity speaks. Let me say that again Never forget that integrity speaks.
Speaker 2:
Daniel served under three different pagan kings in a foreign land in the upper echelon of government because of one thing his integrity. He spoke truth to power, but at the same time he could be trusted. Listen, he told Nebuchadnezzar that he was proud, arrogant and vain and then told him that he was going to live for seven years like a wild man, with his hair being like eagles, feathers and eating grass like a wild donkey. And it came true. And for seven years nobody whispered a word against Daniel. They were deathly afraid of him. And then, when Belshazzar drank wine out of God's vessels, daniel rebuked him soundly in front of all the royal officials and then told him that he was going to die. And in fact he did die that very night. And everybody was deathly afraid of Daniel because he was God's man and he spoke God's truth. Daniel had integrity and he was fearless Number five. More than that, daniel was never alone.
Speaker 2:
Daniel rose to positions of influence because of faithfulness in the little things, including his Hebrew diet, prayer and trusting God. Many years later, jesus said he who is faithful in a very little thing will also be faithful in much. At every turn, even the pagan kings Acknowledge that in him in Daniel was a spirit of the most holy gods, that he possessed an extraordinary spirit and that behind Daniel was the God of the heavens and the earth, whose dominion was an everlasting dominion. Just as Daniel was occupied by the spirit of the living God in that pagan culture because of his faithfulness in the fundamentals of the faith, so you and I can be indwelt and empowered by God's spirit in any venue as we faithfully abide in God's Word, in prayer and in Christian fellowship and in submission to his spirit. Honestly, I don't think Daniel went looking for trouble or notoriety. In fact, just the opposite. Recall he declined the king's offer of riches and position multiple times. His faithfulness to God in a pagan culture made him a standout. When trouble occurred, daniel was their go-to guy.
Speaker 2:
So here's the final question Are you the spirit anointed, walking in the spirit, walking in righteousness, go-to person in your family, in your neighborhood or at your workplace that everyone calls when there's trouble, when they need a peacemaker, when they need a counselor and biblical advice? And are you persecuted because your advice is biblically based and goes against the popular narrative? You see, the Bible says all who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Daniel was both popular at times but persecuted at other times. Daniel was God's man in pagan Babylon. So I have to finish with one last question Are you God's faithful representative in the post-Christian secularized culture in which you live? Well, you're listening to devotions with Dr Papa. If you like what you hear, I pray that you would like it, follow it or share it. Tell your friends and family about it, and we'll be back next week. May the Lord bless you. Real good.
Speaker 1:
Thank you for listening to this edition of More Than Medicine. For more information about the Jackson Family Ministry, dr Jackson's books or to schedule a speaking engagement, go to their Facebook page, instagram or their webpage at JacksonFamilyMinistrycom. This podcast is produced by Bobsalon Audio Production at Bobsaloncom.