WEBVTT 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:12.480 This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:18.000 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org. 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:22.879 God, thank you for what you've done. 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:29.280 Thank you that if we used all of the oceans and turned them into ink, we could not write all the things you've done. 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:31.280 You've saved us. 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:33.039 And it was your idea. 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:35.600 Not because of who we are, but because of what you've done. 00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:40.640 And it wasn't because of anything we had done, all because of who you are. 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:41.759 That's what you did. 00:00:41.840 --> 00:01:01.039 And if that weren't enough, you demonstrated yourself just this year alone with new life, calling life home to you, with recovery, remission, support, comfort, light in the darkness. 00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:02.799 God, you've done all of that. 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:04.480 That's just a year. 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:07.439 Thank you for how long you've done it. 00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:09.599 Thank you for your consistency. 00:01:10.319 --> 00:01:18.640 So, God, I pray for your consistency this morning that you will once again open your word, illuminate our minds and our hearts with it. 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:23.200 Let us have application and live out what you're calling us to. 00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:31.280 Let us understand from the holy word of you, God, how we're supposed to live, what it looks like when we do. 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:39.120 God, we recognize we are not where we ought to be at times. 00:01:39.760 --> 00:01:42.239 We recognize that you're not done with us. 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:49.760 But we also praise you that we're not where we used to be because of you and your salvation. 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:52.239 I pray all of this in your name, Jesus. 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:53.200 Amen. 00:01:57.680 --> 00:01:58.719 Well, good morning. 00:01:58.879 --> 00:02:03.280 If you were expecting our lead pastor Neil McClendon, let me say, so was I. 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:10.159 Neil contacted me last night and uh he has an illness. 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:15.039 I guess uh he started his New Year's Eve one night too early. 00:02:17.599 --> 00:02:19.520 So we will get through this together. 00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:24.879 No, he is um he is suffering from uh, I think catching a bug that's kind of going around. 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:27.199 And so that hit him last night. 00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:29.280 And uh here we are together. 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:34.319 Now, I recognize that today we could talk a little bit about New Year's resolutions and things. 00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:37.039 I'm not about resolutions, I'm about solutions. 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:37.919 Amen. 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:43.759 All right, so uh here's my suggestion to you related to New Year's resolutions. 00:02:43.919 --> 00:02:44.719 Don't make those. 00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:45.599 Do this instead. 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:50.000 And Clyde kind of uh sort of mentioned this a little bit before we sang that song. 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:52.560 He said, Hey, think back about all the things that have done. 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:59.919 Uh I got this from an author named Tim Ferris, and he says, perform a PYR, a prior year review. 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:03.599 I think that's a great thing to do over the next few days. 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:07.280 Just asking, God, where were you that I might have missed you? 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:10.080 Where was it that I demonstrated you to others? 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:11.520 Where did I miss it? 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:13.199 What is it that you did for me? 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:14.479 Let me be reminded of that. 00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:20.400 That prior year review, I think, sets us up well for what we're going to talk about today. 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:23.840 And it is consistency is the key. 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:26.960 How do we live the Christian life with consistency? 00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:36.080 Not resolutions, but instead solutions, and not necessarily solutions that we would come up with, but instead just living day to day the way the Bible demonstrates to us. 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:40.080 Now we're going to use the biblical character Daniel to do this. 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:42.800 And for a lot of you, this is going to be very familiar. 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:44.639 Let me challenge you with this. 00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:50.159 Let's not let the familiarity blind us to maybe a new revelation today. 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:52.479 Let us not say, oh, yeah, I know those names. 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:54.319 Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know all about that. 00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:58.000 I want you to listen as best you can with new ears today. 00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:03.599 Under this umbrella of consistency is key. 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:07.759 Now let me warn you, we're going to read three separate passages here. 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:09.199 And it's going to be a little bit long. 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:12.400 I'll stop after each one and unpack those uh for us. 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:14.560 And um, we'll go through that. 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:18.800 That's not an apology that we're gonna use the Bible a lot, it's just a recognition of that. 00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:22.720 So turn in your Bibles if you would, or you can follow on the screens behind me to Daniel. 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:30.720 If you go to Psalms and just kind of hang aright a few chapters over, if you go to the New Testament, go back to the left, uh, just past Jeremiah. 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:34.079 So take a look at Daniel chapter one. 00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:45.439 We're gonna read verses one through 16 first, and let's see as we look at this idea of a macro and micro lens honing in on the character of Daniel. 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:50.800 So let's read together Daniel chapter 1, starting in verse 1. 00:04:51.360 --> 00:05:00.399 In the third year of the reign of Joachim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:04.639 And the Lord delivered Joachim, king of Judah, into his hand. 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:13.920 Along with some of the articles from the temple of God, these he carried off to the temple of his God in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his God. 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:34.319 Then the king ordered Ashbanaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility, young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:38.399 He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:42.959 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:45.759 They were to be trained for three years. 00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:48.800 And after that, they were to enter the king's service. 00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:55.920 Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Meshael, and Azariah. 00:05:56.160 --> 00:05:58.480 The chief official gave them new names. 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:07.839 To Daniel, the name Belshazzar, to Hananiah, Shadrach, to Meshael, Meshach, to Azariah, Abednego. 00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:13.920 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine. 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:18.800 He asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:29.040 Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, I'm afraid of my Lord, the king, who has assigned your food and drink. 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:33.920 Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:36.959 The king would then have my head because of you. 00:06:37.439 --> 00:06:47.920 Daniel then said to the guard, whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Meshael, and Azariah, Please test your servants for ten days. 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:51.199 Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:59.040 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see. 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:03.439 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:09.920 At the end of the ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:16.879 So the guard took away their choice food and wine, and they were to give them vegetables instead. 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:22.959 Now, a friend of mine recently told me, he said, Wade, a vegetarian and a vegan jumped off a cliff. 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:24.480 Who do you think won? 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:26.000 And I went, I don't know. 00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:27.519 And he said, society. 00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:35.759 This is not a uh a reading about veganism or anything else. 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:40.560 As Rudy's likes to say, I'd inclined to the top of the food chain to eat vegetables, although I like vegetables. 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:43.279 That's not the only intake, but that's not what this is about. 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:45.519 Let's take a look at this micro lens. 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:52.079 Let's really zoom in on Daniel, and I want us to see what was it like for Daniel in his youth. 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:56.959 Now, at this point in the story, Daniel is about 14 years old. 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:02.000 He's been separated from family, from his home, even his name. 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:05.839 It tells us everything was trying to be stripped away from him. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:08.879 But in this micro lens, what do we see? 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:10.560 Well, I think we see a couple of things. 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:13.920 Number one, we see a respect for authority. 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:16.160 Look at verse 8 with me. 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:21.040 It says, But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine. 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:25.120 And here it is, and he asked the chief official for permission. 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:29.279 Now, a lot of people today, they don't ask for permission, they just start showing out. 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:31.199 I tell you what, you're not gonna tell me what to do. 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:32.399 I'll be the one to decide. 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:36.000 I Daniel had lost everything. 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:40.960 He probably had a pretty decent excuse to rail against authority. 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:42.320 You're not gonna take over. 00:08:42.399 --> 00:08:45.120 You've I tell you what, you're not gonna change my name. 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:52.879 And instead, he went along with these things, but yet didn't defile himself and still was asking for permission. 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:53.919 May I? 00:08:54.159 --> 00:08:55.279 Could we try this? 00:08:55.440 --> 00:08:56.799 What if we were? 00:08:57.440 --> 00:09:15.200 Sometimes that might be the way we ought to be with our boss, who is an unbeliever, perhaps maybe a taskmaster, or maybe that's the way we ought to be with kids we go to school with, instead of giving in uh in a way that puts a barrier between us, perhaps we ought to be respecting authority a little bit more. 00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:20.639 Whether or not we agree with it, it doesn't change our position, nor our showing respect. 00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:23.519 And that's what Daniel demonstrated to us. 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:35.200 Now, it might be the teacher at school or the guy in the big white house on Pennsylvania Avenue, or it might not be, but it is a respect for authority. 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:40.480 It would be real easy for people to lump us as Christians in along with everyone else. 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:42.320 Oh, see, they just rail in too. 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:44.559 I mean, even Jesus had some zealot, right? 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:48.080 Didn't he have somebody that was politically against everyone? 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:53.759 Yeah, he did, but I promise you, he still insisted on a respect for authority. 00:09:54.399 --> 00:10:01.519 The second thing we see in Daniel at this point in the story, this micro lens, we see a confidence in his belief. 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:03.919 Look at verses 12 and 13. 00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:06.799 Now, look, Daniel's going out on a limb here, okay? 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:08.000 And it demonstrates that. 00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:11.279 He says, Please test your servants for 10 days. 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:14.480 Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:15.519 I mean, 10 days. 00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:16.960 That's not a lot of time, okay? 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:19.519 Keto, I think, says, take 30 before it kicks in. 00:10:19.679 --> 00:10:21.120 I mean, this is not a lot of time. 00:10:21.200 --> 00:10:29.919 And he says, then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food and treat your servants in accordance with what you see. 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:32.080 He had confidence in his belief. 00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:35.120 Now, this is what was probably going to happen. 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:38.799 Daniel and his friends eat the vegetables, drink the water. 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:43.519 If they lose any weight, any muscle mass, anything like that, they're going to be up a real creek. 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:51.200 Because anything Daniel asked for in the future, likely this guard is going to go, you mean like what happened last time? 00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:54.639 Daniel had confidence in his belief. 00:10:55.440 --> 00:11:00.080 I think we ought to ask ourselves, what would have given Daniel that kind of confidence? 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:05.840 Now, I believe what gave Daniel that kind of confidence was experience. 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:07.919 Certainly, I believe in Revelation. 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:09.600 We're going to talk a little bit about that in a minute. 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:20.960 I think Daniel was being prompted by God and his spirit, yes, but I also believe that experience told him, I think Daniel, even in his youth, was experiencing intimacy with God. 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:22.159 He knew. 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:28.720 It's what I call kind of that tightness in your chest that you get when that spirit gets on you and you're like, oh, I'm supposed to do something. 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:32.000 I think Daniel had already experienced that for a while now. 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:37.600 And likely he had said yes to some and no to some, and he knew the difference in those. 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:44.559 And I think at this point, he probably experienced that little tightness and said, Oh, I don't know if I can eat and drink the things you're given. 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:47.200 In fact, I'm going to start separating myself. 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:50.080 And here's the first way I'm going to do it. 00:11:50.639 --> 00:11:55.519 I bet his prayer life was consistent and his time of listening to God was constant. 00:11:55.759 --> 00:12:00.960 You don't respond this way in that setting unless that's true. 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:05.279 Prayer life consistent and your time with God constant. 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:09.440 Well, let's fast forward the story just a little bit. 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:15.039 And I want us to look at, okay, so this was youth, but what happens when Daniel was in charge? 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:20.080 So let's look at that micro lens, and I want you to flip a few pages over for me. 00:12:20.320 --> 00:12:22.639 Let's take a look at Daniel chapter six. 00:12:22.720 --> 00:12:27.840 Now I'm going to read verses one through four to kind of set it, and then we're going to fast forward to verse 12, okay? 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:29.679 So stay with me as we as we do that. 00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:33.279 So this is Daniel chapter 6, starting in verse 1. 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:43.840 It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:48.960 The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. 00:12:49.200 --> 00:13:01.519 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exemption, excuse me, exceptional qualities, that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:11.200 At this, the administrators and satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel and his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:18.639 They could find no corruption in him because he was trustworthy, and neither corrupt nor negligent. 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:22.480 By the way, they find no fault in him, might be one way you would read it. 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:24.799 That should maybe sound familiar. 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:26.480 Let's fast forward now. 00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:28.639 Move over to verse 12. 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:31.039 So these folks are out to get Daniel. 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:33.039 He's not doing what they want him to do, right? 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:34.240 He's kind of showing them up. 00:13:34.399 --> 00:13:36.559 He's showing up and showing out, but in a right way. 00:13:36.720 --> 00:13:38.320 Here we are in verse 12. 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:41.919 So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree. 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:51.200 Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any God or man except to you, O king, would be thrown into the lion's den? 00:13:51.600 --> 00:13:53.279 You can hear the setup, right? 00:13:53.440 --> 00:13:54.879 Isn't it true? 00:13:55.519 --> 00:14:02.480 The king answered, The decree stands in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed. 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:12.559 Then they said to the king, Daniel, who's one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the decree you put in writing. 00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:15.360 He still prays three times a day. 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:18.639 When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed. 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:24.559 He was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him. 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:35.039 Then the men went as a group to the king and said to him, Remember, O king, that according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed. 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:40.480 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lion's den. 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:47.039 The king said to Daniel, May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you. 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:54.159 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, another familiar verse there. 00:14:54.399 --> 00:15:01.759 And the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed. 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:09.759 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him, and he could not sleep. 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:14.320 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lion's den. 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:24.000 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve, continually been able to rescue you from the lions? 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:27.039 And Daniel answered, O king, live forever. 00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:30.159 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. 00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:38.080 They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight, nor have I ever done anything wrong before you, O king. 00:15:38.320 --> 00:15:42.799 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. 00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:49.440 And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:53.200 What does it look like when Daniel is in charge? 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:59.279 Now, at this point in our story, Daniel is somewhere around 70, maybe 80 years old. 00:15:59.519 --> 00:16:03.919 He's been separated, remember, from family, from home, from his name. 00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:11.279 And in this particular micro lens that we're looking at, we see an attempt has been made to even separate him from his faith. 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:15.759 So what do we see when Daniel is in charge? 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:18.480 Well, I think first what we see is trustworthiness. 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:19.679 Take a look at verse 4. 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:31.440 Way back in verse 4, we read at this the administrators and satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:37.679 They could find no corruption in him because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:45.519 In today's society, when you can't hardly blink without finding something wrong with certain people that are in charge, they're actually looking really hard. 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:50.559 I mean, they got the full FBI background check on this guy, and they can't locate anything. 00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:52.799 And they're like, man, what are we gonna do? 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:53.840 We can't even get him. 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:59.279 Daniel was so trustworthy that even his enemies said, I got nothing on him. 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:03.200 Daniel never thought, I think this. 00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:05.359 Daniel never thought, you know what? 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:07.279 This place owes me. 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:09.519 I mean, I've been here for a long time now. 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:11.359 They took me from my home, took my name. 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:11.920 You know what? 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:13.440 I'm gonna start taking mine back. 00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:16.240 Maybe a pen or pencil from work, maybe that. 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:23.279 I tried to take a fax machine once and I got caught at the door, but maybe it's a few extra miles of my expense report. 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:25.839 By the way, it never starts real big. 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:28.319 Do you ever notice trustworthiness when you lose it? 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:29.279 It never starts huge. 00:17:29.359 --> 00:17:33.119 It's never, oh my gosh, how did they steal a million dollars all at once? 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:44.400 It always starts with that little seed, that little, that little glimpse of, ooh, if I, what if this little thing, this little what if I were to take a glance at my classmates' test? 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:45.440 You know, I started the new year. 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:48.079 I mean, I had a little bit of a rough last year, but I'm gonna rebound this time. 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:49.680 Maybe just a little, let me just check my answers. 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:50.640 Does he have B? 00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:52.559 I have B, oh, you don't have B. 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:57.039 Daniel was trustworthy in everything he did. 00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:00.640 The next thing we can see is he was consistent. 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:03.920 Look at verses 16 and 20. 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:05.839 Let's look at verse 16 first. 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:10.319 Now, so the king gave the order, and I think this is very interesting, by the way. 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:14.960 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lion's den. 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:22.400 The king said to Daniel, May your God, whom you serve continually rescue you. 00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:24.559 By the way, that that's fascinating to me. 00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:26.319 We'll get back to that in just a second. 00:18:26.480 --> 00:18:28.160 Look down at verse 20. 00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:39.759 And this is the king, when he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve, continually been able to rescue you from the lions. 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:41.279 Now, don't miss this. 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:47.680 This is a guy who has just ordered a 30-day decree that nobody worships anything but him. 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:55.759 And he's saying to an exile, not even somebody from his own country, that you might say, well, he stood up for him, or he had, not at all. 00:18:56.000 --> 00:19:03.359 He watched Daniel's consistency so much that he said, Daniel, the God that you continually serve, may he save you. 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:08.400 I think, now, I'm not sure about this, but it's just my guess. 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:17.279 This is probably one of the few places you're going to find in the Bible where a non-believer is saying, I sure hope God does what you want him to. 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:22.799 Most of the time we read stories about them saying, No, I don't want God doing, my heart is hardened or whatever. 00:19:23.039 --> 00:19:28.319 And instead we see this guy saying, Whew, I hope that God you pray to is going to save you. 00:19:28.559 --> 00:19:30.319 That's how consistent Daniel was. 00:19:30.400 --> 00:19:34.000 I mean, he said twice, can that you continually serve. 00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:39.519 How big of a demonstration must Daniel have been making? 00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:43.119 Well, my answer to that would be, I bet it wasn't very big. 00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:44.720 I bet it wasn't showy. 00:19:45.440 --> 00:19:47.440 I think it was just consistent. 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:51.359 The guys that were out to get him said, Man, he does it three times a day. 00:19:51.519 --> 00:19:53.039 Can you believe that? 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:56.799 I mean, shoot, I've talked to some people and they're like, yeah, I got too busy to pray. 00:19:56.880 --> 00:19:58.799 I realized three days later I hadn't even prayed. 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:01.200 This guy's doing it three times a day. 00:20:01.839 --> 00:20:06.160 The consistency is what we see in that micro lens as we zoom in on that. 00:20:07.759 --> 00:20:22.319 I think many times we think that we're like others, we'll have, you know, better relationships, and that'll produce opportunities to witness, and we'll make sure that people like us first, and then we'll be able to tell them, you know, where we go to church and we'll invite them and we'll do those things. 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:24.000 Daniel didn't wait for that. 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:29.599 Daniel shows this idea that we need to be consistent in our faith, and that produces a greater testimony. 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:36.079 We're going to talk more about that when we kind of pull the lens back and look at a micro lens of this whole story together. 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:41.119 But Daniel is demonstrating I didn't have to do anything great, I just had to be consistent. 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:49.680 He also, I think, points out to us, by the way, that there's a difference between who you work for and who you answer to. 00:20:50.319 --> 00:20:51.440 You hear the difference? 00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:55.759 Who I work for might be that person in that particular office. 00:20:56.079 --> 00:21:01.119 Who I answer to, well, that might be the creator of the universe. 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:11.200 Continuing this micro lens view, I want us to look at what do we see when Daniel has revelation of desolation? 00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:16.079 Now that sounds kind of uh maybe ominous, but uh let's take a look here. 00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:18.799 Now, are you still with me for just a few minutes longer? 00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:26.799 This would only go maybe five or twenty, I'm not sure, but uh let me read to you what I think to be a terrific prayer. 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:30.480 Flip over a few more pages if you have your Bible with you. 00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:32.319 It's Daniel chapter nine. 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:36.240 Now, this is a little bit of a long reading, so I want you to brace yourself. 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:38.319 But let's look at this idea. 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:42.319 Now, Daniel has been given a revelation of desolation. 00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:48.240 I'm talking about famine is coming, God is bringing down the hammer on these people. 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:50.480 And this is what happens. 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:52.400 Chapter 9, verse 1. 00:21:52.720 --> 00:21:59.839 In the first year of Darius, son of Xerxes, Amede by descent, who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:12.480 In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:21.039 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting and in sackcloth and ashes. 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:33.519 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed, O Lord, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands. 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:35.759 We have sinned and done wrong. 00:22:35.920 --> 00:22:38.480 We have been wicked and have rebelled. 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:42.400 We have turned away from your commands and laws. 00:22:42.880 --> 00:22:52.640 We have not listened to your servants and prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:57.680 Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame. 00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:07.839 The men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all of Israel, both near and far, and all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:14.799 O Lord, we and our kings and our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. 00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:18.000 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving. 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:26.319 Even though we have rebelled against him, we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants, the prophets. 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:32.319 All Israel has transgressed your laws and turned away, refusing to obey you. 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:43.359 Therefore, the curses and sworn judgments written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us because you have sinned, because we have sinned against you. 00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:50.640 You have fulfilled the word spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us great disaster. 00:23:51.039 --> 00:23:56.640 Under the whole heaven, nothing has ever been done like what you've done to Jerusalem. 00:23:56.880 --> 00:24:08.799 Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:16.960 The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does, yet we have not obeyed him. 00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:29.039 Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and who have made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we've done wrong. 00:24:29.359 --> 00:24:36.960 O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:45.680 Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us. 00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:50.880 Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. 00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:55.440 For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 00:24:55.599 --> 00:24:57.359 Give ear, O God, and hear. 00:24:57.519 --> 00:25:02.880 Open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your name. 00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:09.440 We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:11.680 Oh Lord, listen. 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:13.839 Oh Lord, forgive. 00:25:14.240 --> 00:25:18.960 O Lord, hear and act for your sake. 00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:25.039 Oh my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your name. 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:28.400 What do we see in this revelation of desolation? 00:25:28.640 --> 00:25:34.480 Daniel has gotten this vision, and it's gonna be 70 years of destruction. 00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:41.599 70 years of this, what Daniel fears might be silence from God, might be complete abandonment from his God. 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:42.720 And what does he do? 00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:44.880 The first thing he does is he gets on his knees and pray. 00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:48.720 And by the way, just a little footnote here great prayer for us today. 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:59.920 If that doesn't sound familiar to what our world, our nation, our county, our city looks like, then you might ought to read this again and then watch 30 minutes of the news tonight. 00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:04.400 And that's not railing necessarily against anything political. 00:26:04.559 --> 00:26:07.279 I'm just saying, people, we have lost our way. 00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:10.079 And we better be careful. 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:16.079 Now, I think the first thing we see is Daniel prays. 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:19.839 Verse 4, he picks it up and it just says, And Daniel prayed. 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:21.759 Daniel knew what was coming and he prayed. 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:24.160 By the way, you notice Daniel didn't celebrate? 00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:26.240 Daniel didn't say, Well, goody for them. 00:26:26.319 --> 00:26:27.680 They are getting what they deserve. 00:26:27.839 --> 00:26:30.400 Daniel is saying a couple of things worth pointing out. 00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:35.599 Number one, he is including himself in this idea of, I am still Jerusalem. 00:26:35.759 --> 00:26:37.920 I am still part of your chosen people. 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:47.440 And the second thing he does, I don't know if you noticed it, but throughout his prayer, he kept saying, for your sake, God, for your glory. 00:26:47.599 --> 00:26:53.920 He never said, God, be merciful to us, for we're he was saying, for you, so that your name is great. 00:26:54.240 --> 00:27:00.240 God, you've stamped this city and these people and this country with your name, so let's make sure it's for you. 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:03.359 A lot of us start our prayers with, now, God, here's what I'd like to have. 00:27:03.440 --> 00:27:05.440 And look, I'm as guilty as anybody. 00:27:05.680 --> 00:27:09.359 I kind of go through that list of here's all the things I need. 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:12.720 Here's my calendar for today, here's my to-do list for this week. 00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:15.279 Oh, and if you could keep my wife, you know, quiet. 00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:17.359 And then here's some other things. 00:27:17.759 --> 00:27:18.880 Is she in here? 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:20.160 Um, oh, she is. 00:27:20.240 --> 00:27:20.559 Okay. 00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:23.759 And because I want her to hear how much I love her. 00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:34.400 And have you ever noticed that when it all comes down to it, you'll hear this at times. 00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:37.440 Well, all we can do now is pray. 00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:41.119 Daniel said, That's the first thing I'm gonna do. 00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:46.319 Remember now, we just talked about the fact that he'd been praying three times a day. 00:27:46.400 --> 00:27:49.119 He'd been praying so much that he had the eyes of his enemy on him. 00:27:49.279 --> 00:28:00.240 He'd been praying so much that the guy that was in charge of an ungodly nation said, Whoo, Daniel, pray to your God and I hope he saves you. 00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:02.319 So Daniel prays. 00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:05.279 It's one of the longest prayers in the Old Testament. 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:13.920 Daniel was constantly in prayer, and it didn't take 70 or 90 years of captivity for Daniel to finally come to his senses. 00:28:14.799 --> 00:28:17.119 Daniel was always praying. 00:28:17.680 --> 00:28:25.519 My guess is this particular prayer that's recorded for us was just probably very similar to what he had already been praying all along. 00:28:26.079 --> 00:28:30.000 I think he was praying, God, it whenever it's your will, release us from captivity. 00:28:30.079 --> 00:28:34.559 I think he was probably praying, God, if you would let me do a good job here and demonstrate. 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:37.599 But always, he didn't just come up with for your sake. 00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:39.279 I think he was always praying that. 00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:43.440 And I think what it tells us is we might ought to change the focus of our prayer. 00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:45.359 Instead of God, what are you doing for me? 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:46.480 What is it that I need? 00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:48.960 God, how do I serve you? 00:28:50.400 --> 00:28:52.480 Great prayer for us today. 00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:55.039 And just another little footnote here. 00:28:55.200 --> 00:29:04.079 I think this prayer reminds us of something, and it's this He cannot be God if He's not God, period. 00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:08.160 Let me say that another way. 00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:15.920 He cannot be the God that saves you if you don't recognize him as the God that does all the other things in the Bible. 00:29:16.240 --> 00:29:19.119 We really enjoy when God saves us. 00:29:20.160 --> 00:29:24.160 Ah, we're not so sure about this other God that kills people when he gets jealous. 00:29:24.400 --> 00:29:32.640 We're not so sure about this other God that didn't answer my prayer to heal my grandmother or do this or that or save me from, oh, we like it when he saves us. 00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:39.839 We're not sure about the folks, he's God no matter what, always, all the time, period. 00:29:39.920 --> 00:29:44.160 And he cannot be the saving God unless you let him be the other God as well. 00:29:46.319 --> 00:29:50.160 My God is a God of love, absolutely, and he's also jealous. 00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:52.799 And some people say, Well, you know what? 00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:57.200 I'm not sure I can worship a God that would strike down and bring disaster and all of that. 00:29:57.279 --> 00:30:03.359 Well, you'd better be careful about what you're subscribing to the God that not only created the universe, but he spoke it into existence. 00:30:03.519 --> 00:30:05.839 How many things have you made by speaking? 00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:12.240 All right, so let's move now to this macro lens. 00:30:12.319 --> 00:30:13.839 I want us to back up a little bit. 00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:17.359 What do these three different sections show us? 00:30:18.319 --> 00:30:21.599 Well, here's what I think these snippets of Daniel show us. 00:30:21.680 --> 00:30:24.720 Number one, he never waned from what he knew to be true. 00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:26.240 He never wavered. 00:30:27.200 --> 00:30:34.079 Now, um, not to get off on a rant here, but when I was in school, and this has been a while, we had two genders. 00:30:39.039 --> 00:30:49.680 Now there is, and I think at latest count, uh, it's estimated that there are 105 gender recognitions out there. 00:30:51.680 --> 00:30:52.799 What's my point? 00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:58.640 My point is we should not waver from what we know to be true. 00:30:58.720 --> 00:31:08.640 And sometimes our kids are our grandkids, maybe our schoolmates, are likely gonna be some of the greatest challenges to what we know to be true. 00:31:09.519 --> 00:31:10.640 And that's hard. 00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:12.400 I can't explain that. 00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:21.119 I don't know what to do with that sometimes, other than keep reminding myself, I know what is true, and I'm not gonna waver from that. 00:31:23.119 --> 00:31:29.839 The second thing we see in this macro lens across this spectrum of Daniel is that he was raised right. 00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:38.160 I don't believe that you see what we saw in that micro age at 14 if he's not been shown the way well before that. 00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:41.680