1 00:00:00,467 --> 00:00:03,470 This is a reading from Daniel chapter six. 2 00:00:04,371 --> 00:00:06,840 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 3 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:10,043 120 crops to be throughout the whole kingdom. 4 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:14,397 And over them three high officials of whom Daniel was one 5 00:00:14,698 --> 00:00:17,567 to whom these sage hats should give account. 6 00:00:17,567 --> 00:00:20,103 So that the king might suffer no loss. 7 00:00:20,103 --> 00:00:24,557 Then the snow became distinguished above all the other high officials. And. 8 00:00:25,675 --> 00:00:28,228 Because an excellent spirit was in him, 9 00:00:28,228 --> 00:00:31,281 and the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 10 00:00:31,431 --> 00:00:34,801 Then the high officials in the satraps sought to find a crown 11 00:00:34,801 --> 00:00:37,787 for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom. 12 00:00:38,154 --> 00:00:41,057 But they could find no ground for complaint at any fault, 13 00:00:41,057 --> 00:00:45,111 because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. 14 00:00:45,412 --> 00:00:48,782 Then these men said, we shall not find any ground for complaint 15 00:00:48,782 --> 00:00:53,253 against this Daniel, unless we find it in connection with the law of his God. 16 00:00:53,937 --> 00:00:57,924 Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king 17 00:00:57,924 --> 00:01:01,561 and said to him, O King Darius, live forever. 18 00:01:01,978 --> 00:01:06,199 All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, 19 00:01:06,416 --> 00:01:10,070 the councilors and the governors agreed that the King 20 00:01:10,070 --> 00:01:13,490 should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction 21 00:01:13,823 --> 00:01:19,112 that whoever makes a petition to any God or man for 30 days, except to you, 22 00:01:19,379 --> 00:01:22,382 O King, shall be cast into the den of lions. 23 00:01:23,032 --> 00:01:26,703 Now, O King, establish the injunction and sign the document 24 00:01:26,936 --> 00:01:28,671 so that it cannot be changed 25 00:01:28,671 --> 00:01:32,041 according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked. 26 00:01:32,242 --> 00:01:35,612 Therefore, King Darius signed the document and injunction. 27 00:01:35,879 --> 00:01:40,400 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house, 28 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:44,270 where he had windows and his upper chamber open towards Jerusalem. 29 00:01:45,054 --> 00:01:48,892 He got down on his knees three times a day, and prayed and gave 30 00:01:48,892 --> 00:01:51,961 thanks before his God, as he had done previously. 31 00:01:52,645 --> 00:01:56,366 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition 32 00:01:56,366 --> 00:01:57,917 and plead before his God. 33 00:01:57,917 --> 00:02:01,855 Then they came here and said before the king concerning the injunction, 34 00:02:02,222 --> 00:02:04,858 O King, did you not sign an injunction 35 00:02:04,858 --> 00:02:07,861 that anyone who makes a petition to any God or man 36 00:02:08,011 --> 00:02:12,632 within 30 days, except to you, O King, shall be cast into the den of lions. 37 00:02:13,583 --> 00:02:16,820 The king answered and said, the thing stands fast 38 00:02:16,820 --> 00:02:20,657 according to the law of the means in the Persians, which cannot be revoked. 39 00:02:21,591 --> 00:02:25,111 Then they answered and said before the king Daniel, 40 00:02:25,311 --> 00:02:29,215 who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O King, 41 00:02:29,599 --> 00:02:34,137 or the injunction you have signed, but makes this petition three times a day. 42 00:02:34,771 --> 00:02:39,108 Then the king, when he heard these words with much distress, and set his mind 43 00:02:39,108 --> 00:02:42,979 to deliver Daniel, and he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. 44 00:02:43,530 --> 00:02:47,700 Then these men came by agreement to the king, and said to the king, 45 00:02:48,051 --> 00:02:51,287 know, O king, that it is a law of the means. 46 00:02:51,287 --> 00:02:52,255 And Persians, that 47 00:02:52,255 --> 00:02:56,459 no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed. 48 00:02:57,560 --> 00:02:58,194 Then the king 49 00:02:58,194 --> 00:03:01,798 commanded, and Daniel was brought in, cast into the den of lions. 50 00:03:02,398 --> 00:03:07,437 The king declared to Daniel, May your God whom you serve continually deliver you. 51 00:03:08,004 --> 00:03:11,541 And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the dun, and the king 52 00:03:11,541 --> 00:03:14,777 sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his courts. 53 00:03:15,061 --> 00:03:17,997 That nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 54 00:03:17,997 --> 00:03:21,201 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. 55 00:03:21,834 --> 00:03:24,921 No diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. 56 00:03:26,272 --> 00:03:27,924 Then at break of day 57 00:03:27,924 --> 00:03:31,427 the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. 58 00:03:32,212 --> 00:03:34,731 As he came near to the den where Daniel was, 59 00:03:34,731 --> 00:03:37,550 he cried out in a tone of anguish. 60 00:03:37,550 --> 00:03:41,537 The king declared to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, 61 00:03:41,788 --> 00:03:46,459 has your God whom you serve continually been able to deliver you from the lions. 62 00:03:47,210 --> 00:03:50,430 Then Daniel said to the king, O king, live forever. 63 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:53,700 My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouth. 64 00:03:53,700 --> 00:03:57,053 And they have not harm me, because I was found blameless before him, 65 00:03:57,470 --> 00:04:01,074 and also before you, O King, I have done no harm. 66 00:04:01,758 --> 00:04:04,010 Then the king was exceedingly glad, 67 00:04:04,010 --> 00:04:07,013 and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. 68 00:04:07,580 --> 00:04:11,718 So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, 69 00:04:12,051 --> 00:04:15,471 because he had trusted in his God, and the king commanded. 70 00:04:15,888 --> 00:04:19,442 And those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought 71 00:04:19,459 --> 00:04:22,161 and cast into the den of lions. 72 00:04:22,161 --> 00:04:24,981 They, their children, and their wives. 73 00:04:24,981 --> 00:04:27,183 And before they reached the bottom of the den, 74 00:04:27,183 --> 00:04:30,887 the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces. 75 00:04:31,921 --> 00:04:34,741 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, 76 00:04:34,741 --> 00:04:37,727 nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth. 77 00:04:38,544 --> 00:04:40,613 Peace be multiplied to you. 78 00:04:40,613 --> 00:04:43,316 I make a decree that in all my royal dominion 79 00:04:43,316 --> 00:04:46,636 people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. 80 00:04:46,653 --> 00:04:49,439 For he is the living God enduring forever. 81 00:04:49,439 --> 00:04:53,192 His kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. 82 00:04:53,343 --> 00:04:54,744 He delivers and rescues. 83 00:04:54,744 --> 00:04:57,747 He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth. 84 00:04:57,897 --> 00:05:00,900 He who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions. 85 00:05:01,100 --> 00:05:05,038 So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus 86 00:05:05,038 --> 00:05:08,041 the Persian. 87 00:05:09,142 --> 00:05:11,995 So I was playing golf with this guy one time. 88 00:05:11,995 --> 00:05:14,397 Just nine holes. Getting to know each other. 89 00:05:14,397 --> 00:05:16,699 Didn't didn't know him very well. 90 00:05:16,699 --> 00:05:20,787 And in the first 3 or 4 holes realized 91 00:05:20,787 --> 00:05:24,357 that his life was a complete mess. 92 00:05:24,657 --> 00:05:27,210 Now that that's not my judgment. 93 00:05:27,210 --> 00:05:31,497 He had spent 3 or 4 holes telling me his life was a complete mess. 94 00:05:31,531 --> 00:05:33,683 He told me he ate too much. 95 00:05:33,683 --> 00:05:35,151 He drank too much. 96 00:05:35,151 --> 00:05:36,536 He swore too much. 97 00:05:36,536 --> 00:05:40,857 Basically, whatever you can think of, he did that too much. 98 00:05:41,007 --> 00:05:44,360 That was our conversation for the first couple of holes, 99 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,730 and I appreciated his vulnerability and honesty. 100 00:05:48,064 --> 00:05:51,834 But then we got, like the fifth or sixth hole, and he said something 101 00:05:51,834 --> 00:05:53,403 that kind of stuck out to me. 102 00:05:53,403 --> 00:05:57,023 He said, you know, I keep waiting for a moment 103 00:05:57,023 --> 00:06:01,577 where God asks me to do something really big for him. 104 00:06:02,362 --> 00:06:04,764 I want a moment where I do 105 00:06:04,764 --> 00:06:07,767 something really big for God. 106 00:06:07,917 --> 00:06:11,337 And I remember being struck in that moment, in that conversation 107 00:06:11,337 --> 00:06:15,358 by the disconnect between those two things. 108 00:06:15,858 --> 00:06:16,676 Struck by it. 109 00:06:16,676 --> 00:06:22,281 Because I don't think that disconnect lives only in that particular guy. 110 00:06:22,315 --> 00:06:25,318 I think it lives in my heart and it lives in yours. 111 00:06:25,668 --> 00:06:30,773 I think it's the unintentional consequence of reading stories in the Bible 112 00:06:31,140 --> 00:06:34,043 that are so big, so epic, 113 00:06:34,043 --> 00:06:37,747 so massive, that that's kind of what we crave, 114 00:06:37,764 --> 00:06:41,184 wanting to be a part of one of those significant moments. 115 00:06:41,217 --> 00:06:45,421 It's also, I think, what we think God is interested in. 116 00:06:45,571 --> 00:06:49,826 So that to be really close to God or to be to experience 117 00:06:49,826 --> 00:06:52,378 the movement of God has to be big. It has to be epic. 118 00:06:52,378 --> 00:06:56,282 We we have to build an ark, or go toe to toe with Pharaoh 119 00:06:56,282 --> 00:06:59,285 or be thrown into a den of lions. 120 00:06:59,318 --> 00:07:01,888 Of course, there are two problems with that. 121 00:07:01,888 --> 00:07:04,607 One is, for most of us, those opportunities 122 00:07:04,607 --> 00:07:07,160 are not going to present themselves. 123 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:08,661 We're ordinary people. 124 00:07:08,661 --> 00:07:10,496 We live ordinary lives. 125 00:07:10,496 --> 00:07:13,933 We're going to find ourselves in those massive story. 126 00:07:14,750 --> 00:07:16,068 And then if that's true. 127 00:07:16,068 --> 00:07:21,707 The second problem is that might mean that we think that God isn't as interested 128 00:07:21,707 --> 00:07:25,495 in our lives or in our stories, that he isn't at work 129 00:07:25,495 --> 00:07:29,932 in our ordinary day to day experience is something I've been worried about, 130 00:07:29,966 --> 00:07:33,002 as we spent four weeks looking at some stories 131 00:07:33,002 --> 00:07:35,788 in the book of Daniel, talking about courage 132 00:07:35,788 --> 00:07:39,358 in the fire that your takeaway from this series might be. 133 00:07:39,475 --> 00:07:44,797 Well, if a big moment presents itself, then I need to be ready to step up. 134 00:07:44,814 --> 00:07:48,301 But if no such moment presents itself, 135 00:07:48,301 --> 00:07:53,005 then this really doesn't apply to a regular person like me. 136 00:07:53,222 --> 00:07:56,192 It's why I'm so excited that this last week to conclude 137 00:07:56,192 --> 00:08:02,248 a week of our courage in the fire series is not really about epic moments. 138 00:08:02,965 --> 00:08:05,451 It's about something far more routine 139 00:08:05,451 --> 00:08:08,454 and something far more, I think, familiar. 140 00:08:08,938 --> 00:08:09,722 To show you that 141 00:08:09,722 --> 00:08:14,227 if you have a Bible, would you take it out and open it to Daniel chapter six? 142 00:08:14,243 --> 00:08:15,211 It's perfectly okay 143 00:08:15,211 --> 00:08:18,931 to take out your phone or your tablet however you want to get there. 144 00:08:19,198 --> 00:08:21,801 And hey, if you're here and you didn't bring a Bible, 145 00:08:21,801 --> 00:08:26,239 maybe you're not super familiar with finding your way around the Bible first. 146 00:08:26,272 --> 00:08:28,791 I'm so glad that you're here. 147 00:08:28,791 --> 00:08:30,660 And second, I want you to know that everything 148 00:08:30,660 --> 00:08:34,630 I have to say this weekend is as much for you as it is for anyone. 149 00:08:34,647 --> 00:08:36,599 You're an absolutely the right place. 150 00:08:36,599 --> 00:08:38,784 You don't have to hold a Bible as part of the service, 151 00:08:38,784 --> 00:08:40,970 but if you want to, there's one available to you 152 00:08:40,970 --> 00:08:43,372 in the pew, in front of you, or in the back of East Hall. 153 00:08:43,372 --> 00:08:44,941 It's the same one I use. 154 00:08:44,941 --> 00:08:50,096 So I can tell you that Daniel six is on page 696 if you want to follow along. 155 00:08:50,129 --> 00:08:51,497 Thanks for being here. 156 00:08:51,497 --> 00:08:55,201 But however you're going to get to Daniel six, I have a little bit 157 00:08:55,201 --> 00:08:58,671 different kind of an outline for you this weekend. 158 00:08:58,671 --> 00:09:03,326 I want to introduce you to a formula that will make up my three points. 159 00:09:03,326 --> 00:09:05,895 And the formula goes a little bit like this. 160 00:09:05,895 --> 00:09:10,499 R0 plus I rl equals 161 00:09:10,499 --> 00:09:14,820 gg r0 plus I rl equals gg. 162 00:09:15,238 --> 00:09:17,456 Now you don't know what that means. Hopefully you will. 163 00:09:17,456 --> 00:09:18,991 By the time I'm done. 164 00:09:18,991 --> 00:09:22,111 But those three parts are my outline R0 165 00:09:22,111 --> 00:09:25,982 stands for regular obedience I rl. 166 00:09:25,982 --> 00:09:29,335 In case you don't know, a middle schooler stands for in real life 167 00:09:30,052 --> 00:09:33,289 and GG stands for God's plan of salvation. 168 00:09:33,306 --> 00:09:38,811 So what I want to teach you is that regular obedience in real life 169 00:09:39,295 --> 00:09:42,531 is God's plan for salvation. 170 00:09:42,715 --> 00:09:44,700 Let me show you that from Daniel chapter six. 171 00:09:44,700 --> 00:09:48,387 Let's start with the first one regular obedience R0. 172 00:09:48,955 --> 00:09:50,673 Where do we see that in Daniel six? 173 00:09:50,673 --> 00:09:53,843 Well, the first thing I want you to know is that this is actually 174 00:09:53,843 --> 00:09:58,130 not a story of epic courage or epic faith. 175 00:09:58,397 --> 00:10:00,449 I don't mean it doesn't involve that. 176 00:10:00,449 --> 00:10:03,653 I just mean, that's not it's Genesis. 177 00:10:03,653 --> 00:10:07,490 This is a story about office politics that 178 00:10:07,757 --> 00:10:12,144 that get intense and about how it impacts a man named Daniel. 179 00:10:12,144 --> 00:10:14,397 But what I want you to see is that Daniel's 180 00:10:14,397 --> 00:10:18,534 entry point into the story is not epic. 181 00:10:18,534 --> 00:10:22,555 It's a regular look with me at verse five at the plot against Daniel, 182 00:10:22,555 --> 00:10:25,558 and then verse ten, kind of the main moment of action. 183 00:10:25,791 --> 00:10:27,443 Verse five says this. 184 00:10:27,443 --> 00:10:33,649 Then these men said, we shall not find any ground for complaint against this. 185 00:10:33,649 --> 00:10:38,971 Daniel, unless we find it in connection with the law of his God. 186 00:10:39,422 --> 00:10:43,159 In verse ten, when Daniel knew the document had been signed, 187 00:10:43,159 --> 00:10:46,912 he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open 188 00:10:47,246 --> 00:10:48,898 toward Jerusalem. 189 00:10:48,898 --> 00:10:51,500 He got down on his knees three times a day 190 00:10:51,500 --> 00:10:54,503 and prayed and gave thanks before his God. 191 00:10:54,620 --> 00:10:59,959 And here's the crucial phrase, as he had done previously. 192 00:11:00,259 --> 00:11:04,046 So there are a group of guys who want to get Daniel fired. 193 00:11:04,046 --> 00:11:07,350 And in this culture, if you work up enough on the ladder, 194 00:11:07,383 --> 00:11:10,102 getting fired means also being murdered. 195 00:11:10,102 --> 00:11:13,973 So they want to get him fired and get him dead 196 00:11:13,973 --> 00:11:16,258 and they can't find any dirt on him. 197 00:11:16,258 --> 00:11:19,829 So what they decide to do is to criminalize his faith, 198 00:11:20,012 --> 00:11:23,699 to make it illegal to pray to anyone other than the King. 199 00:11:23,966 --> 00:11:29,021 And they know Daniel will do this because Daniel was a man of regular prayer. 200 00:11:29,038 --> 00:11:33,893 Now, what's important is he was a man of regular prayer before the lion's den. 201 00:11:33,893 --> 00:11:37,279 He was a man of regular prayer before the office. 202 00:11:37,279 --> 00:11:39,298 Politics, before the plotting. 203 00:11:39,298 --> 00:11:42,752 He was just a man of prayer. 204 00:11:42,752 --> 00:11:45,955 Three times a day, the Bible says he prayed. 205 00:11:46,288 --> 00:11:50,659 I'm gonna assume that probably means morning, afternoon and evening. 206 00:11:50,659 --> 00:11:54,346 Or, as I think about them, breakfast, lunch and dinner. 207 00:11:54,346 --> 00:11:57,416 Daniel is a regular man of prayer. 208 00:11:57,416 --> 00:12:01,187 When he prays, the Bible says he gives thanks to God for what he has 209 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:04,173 and he points towards Jerusalem. 210 00:12:04,173 --> 00:12:08,210 Now, that's interesting to me, because the thing about prayer is 211 00:12:08,210 --> 00:12:13,766 that prayer is fundamentally an act of dependance upon God. 212 00:12:14,517 --> 00:12:17,520 Prayer is, at its core, an admission 213 00:12:17,686 --> 00:12:23,359 that we are up against circumstances that are too big for us, and we need help. 214 00:12:23,392 --> 00:12:27,863 Prayer is going to God and asking him to do for us, 215 00:12:27,863 --> 00:12:33,469 or in us or through us what we cannot not do on our own. 216 00:12:33,469 --> 00:12:38,007 It's interesting to me that in this story, the writer could have built the plot 217 00:12:38,007 --> 00:12:43,279 around Daniel's generosity or his integrity, his morality. 218 00:12:43,646 --> 00:12:44,313 But he doesn't. 219 00:12:44,313 --> 00:12:49,885 He builds it around his prayer, his dependance upon God, his realization 220 00:12:50,186 --> 00:12:55,758 that he lives in Babylon and the Babylon, hates his people, hates his God, 221 00:12:55,758 --> 00:13:00,029 that the pull of Babylonian culture is away from God. 222 00:13:00,029 --> 00:13:05,684 And so three times a day he incurs himself in dependance upon God. 223 00:13:05,701 --> 00:13:07,770 Now why is that crucial? 224 00:13:07,770 --> 00:13:10,639 Well, because dependance upon God 225 00:13:10,639 --> 00:13:15,027 is exactly what you need when you go in the lion's den. 226 00:13:15,778 --> 00:13:20,332 When they throw you in the lion's den, you are saying on the way 227 00:13:20,332 --> 00:13:25,020 to and on the way in, God, please help me there. 228 00:13:25,104 --> 00:13:27,356 There are lions that want to eat me. 229 00:13:27,356 --> 00:13:28,941 I don't know what to do about that. 230 00:13:28,941 --> 00:13:31,460 There's nothing I can do about that. 231 00:13:31,460 --> 00:13:33,212 I need your help. 232 00:13:33,212 --> 00:13:37,950 So the prayer for Daniel is praying and the lion's den is the same one. 233 00:13:37,950 --> 00:13:42,972 He's praying in his own den three times a day. 234 00:13:42,988 --> 00:13:45,541 Morning, afternoon, and evening. 235 00:13:45,541 --> 00:13:52,615 You see, Daniel was cultivating a regular pattern, a regular habit of dependance. 236 00:13:52,765 --> 00:13:56,752 This story is not about a guy waking up one morning 237 00:13:56,752 --> 00:14:00,122 and saying, I'm going to do something great for God today. 238 00:14:00,206 --> 00:14:03,993 This story is about a man who's just taking 239 00:14:03,993 --> 00:14:06,979 the next step of dependance. 240 00:14:07,346 --> 00:14:10,549 And I say that because this story is telling us, friends, 241 00:14:10,549 --> 00:14:15,471 that God isn't just present in the big epic moments. 242 00:14:15,588 --> 00:14:18,858 He isn't just present in the crucial moments. 243 00:14:18,858 --> 00:14:20,576 He's present in the day to day. 244 00:14:20,576 --> 00:14:27,483 He's interested in the day to day and that who you are in the epic 245 00:14:27,483 --> 00:14:31,921 moments is fundamentally who you are in the day to day. 246 00:14:32,671 --> 00:14:36,358 Daniel cultivates dependance so that when it comes 247 00:14:36,358 --> 00:14:40,129 time for the lion's den, that's already who he is. 248 00:14:40,129 --> 00:14:43,949 When I was in seminary before a test, we would pray because, 249 00:14:43,949 --> 00:14:47,453 you know, it's seminary and the professors would always pray. 250 00:14:47,453 --> 00:14:50,906 This wonderful or obnoxious prayer, depending on 251 00:14:51,206 --> 00:14:54,393 your perspective, they would say, God, please help these students. 252 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:58,430 Help them to remember everything they studied, 253 00:14:59,582 --> 00:15:02,568 which if you studied, was a great prayer. 254 00:15:02,635 --> 00:15:05,638 And if you didn't, speaking for my friends, 255 00:15:05,721 --> 00:15:07,623 you felt a little judged in that moment. 256 00:15:07,623 --> 00:15:08,390 You know, you're like God 257 00:15:08,390 --> 00:15:12,978 and maybe even help out us sinners who forgot to study, right? 258 00:15:12,978 --> 00:15:16,465 But what the point the professors were making is one you already know. 259 00:15:16,465 --> 00:15:21,437 Exams are the culmination of what you've learned over the semester. 260 00:15:22,071 --> 00:15:24,506 Performance reviews at work 261 00:15:24,506 --> 00:15:29,311 are the culmination of the work you've put in that quarter. 262 00:15:29,328 --> 00:15:31,981 Friends, listen. 263 00:15:31,981 --> 00:15:36,318 God is interested in who you are today. 264 00:15:37,403 --> 00:15:40,673 Regular obedience matters to God 265 00:15:40,889 --> 00:15:44,627 and who you will be in those crucial moments. 266 00:15:44,627 --> 00:15:48,480 Who you will be in those epic moments is who 267 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:51,467 you are busy becoming 268 00:15:51,533 --> 00:15:54,503 in the next few minutes. 269 00:15:54,503 --> 00:15:58,257 Daniel's story is a story of regular obedience. 270 00:15:58,257 --> 00:16:01,560 The circumstances around Daniel change, 271 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:06,081 but he just keeps doing what he's doing. 272 00:16:06,081 --> 00:16:11,487 This story is a story that reminds you your integrity matters. 273 00:16:12,388 --> 00:16:14,907 Your moral choices matter. 274 00:16:14,907 --> 00:16:17,459 Your willingness to forgive matters. 275 00:16:17,459 --> 00:16:20,963 Your willingness to admit you were wrong matters. 276 00:16:20,963 --> 00:16:26,518 Your cultivation of dependance matters, and you never really know 277 00:16:26,819 --> 00:16:29,822 when it really matters. 278 00:16:30,506 --> 00:16:34,009 Which is why regular obedience is so important. 279 00:16:34,710 --> 00:16:37,079 But the truth is, if we're honest, 280 00:16:37,079 --> 00:16:40,699 epic obedience in some ways feels easier, doesn't it? 281 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:45,204 Because you can see the moment coming and you know, I gotta show up. 282 00:16:45,204 --> 00:16:47,823 It's the daily stuff that's hard. 283 00:16:47,823 --> 00:16:50,009 Have you ever thought about why that is? 284 00:16:51,143 --> 00:16:53,912 Well, I think it's for the same reason. 285 00:16:53,912 --> 00:16:58,500 It's been hard for me to teach my kids when they're little to brush their teeth. 286 00:16:59,251 --> 00:17:03,405 Kids do not understand the importance of brushing their teeth when they're little. 287 00:17:03,422 --> 00:17:05,791 And they come down the stairs in the morning and you say, 288 00:17:05,791 --> 00:17:06,742 did you brush your teeth? 289 00:17:06,742 --> 00:17:09,745 They look at you like you're stupid. No. 290 00:17:09,928 --> 00:17:11,930 Or they come down and go, yeah. 291 00:17:11,930 --> 00:17:13,132 And you say, show me. 292 00:17:13,132 --> 00:17:18,053 And they smile and traffic slows down outside because the teeth are so yellow. 293 00:17:18,053 --> 00:17:19,788 And you go, well, if you did, you didn't do very good. 294 00:17:19,788 --> 00:17:20,823 Go back up. 295 00:17:20,823 --> 00:17:23,809 And every time you seem to get back up there like. 296 00:17:25,310 --> 00:17:28,313 Who cares? 297 00:17:28,497 --> 00:17:30,032 But the thing is, the difference between me 298 00:17:30,032 --> 00:17:32,785 and them is I understand why you brush your teeth. 299 00:17:32,785 --> 00:17:35,821 Like one day they're going to want someone to find them attractive, 300 00:17:36,355 --> 00:17:38,457 and that person might until they smile 301 00:17:39,591 --> 00:17:42,895 one day, they're going to want to do well in a job interview. 302 00:17:42,928 --> 00:17:43,879 They're going to want people 303 00:17:43,879 --> 00:17:49,201 to feel like it's okay to stand within two feet of them and all of those things 304 00:17:49,201 --> 00:17:52,438 require them learning the discipline of brushing your teeth. 305 00:17:52,438 --> 00:17:54,206 You see, the problem between my kids 306 00:17:54,206 --> 00:17:58,377 and I is that I know why we're doing it, and they don't. 307 00:17:58,377 --> 00:18:02,364 Friends listen, your regular obedience matters. 308 00:18:03,232 --> 00:18:07,019 It's another thing that Daniel six teaches us it isn't being wasted. 309 00:18:07,019 --> 00:18:08,604 And that's actually my second point. 310 00:18:08,604 --> 00:18:10,939 Not just regular obedience. 311 00:18:10,939 --> 00:18:13,942 Oh, but in real life. 312 00:18:13,976 --> 00:18:16,261 In real. Life. 313 00:18:16,261 --> 00:18:19,098 I want you to see that Daniel's regular obedience 314 00:18:19,098 --> 00:18:22,101 is not in a vacuum, and it's not in private. 315 00:18:22,367 --> 00:18:26,538 Daniel is a man who lives his faith, who lives his obedience, 316 00:18:26,538 --> 00:18:29,792 who lives his integrity out in public. 317 00:18:29,792 --> 00:18:33,562 That's why they know if they criminalize prayer, he will do it. 318 00:18:33,562 --> 00:18:37,800 And the first thing I want you to see is, if you decide to pursue 319 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:42,805 regular obedience in real life, you will face opposition. 320 00:18:44,123 --> 00:18:46,758 Daniel did, and you will too. 321 00:18:46,758 --> 00:18:52,731 That's because the culture at large is not moving towards God, but away from him. 322 00:18:52,981 --> 00:18:57,119 If you practice obedience in your sexuality, 323 00:18:57,119 --> 00:19:00,122 they will call you repressed. 324 00:19:00,806 --> 00:19:04,109 If you practice obedience and your integrity, 325 00:19:04,109 --> 00:19:07,112 they will tell you to lighten up. 326 00:19:07,713 --> 00:19:09,598 If you practice obedience 327 00:19:09,598 --> 00:19:12,601 in your money, they'll tell you you're too generous. 328 00:19:12,618 --> 00:19:14,987 You should be wiser. 329 00:19:14,987 --> 00:19:16,788 It won't make sense to them. 330 00:19:16,788 --> 00:19:19,341 Opposition will come to you in your workplace. 331 00:19:19,341 --> 00:19:21,109 It'll come to you in your family. 332 00:19:21,109 --> 00:19:23,328 It'll come to you in your social group. 333 00:19:23,328 --> 00:19:26,665 But here's the crucial point of Daniel six 334 00:19:27,049 --> 00:19:30,903 God wants to use that opposition 335 00:19:30,986 --> 00:19:34,339 to create opportunity for observation. 336 00:19:34,890 --> 00:19:37,376 God wants to use the opposition 337 00:19:37,376 --> 00:19:42,381 to your regular obedience to create opportunity for observation. 338 00:19:42,381 --> 00:19:45,117 And look with me at verse 16. Here's what it says. 339 00:19:46,168 --> 00:19:47,636 Then the king commanded, 340 00:19:47,636 --> 00:19:50,906 and Daniel was brought in, cast into the den of lions. 341 00:19:51,490 --> 00:19:54,393 The king declared to Daniel, May your God 342 00:19:54,393 --> 00:19:57,479 whom you serve continually deliver you. 343 00:19:57,896 --> 00:20:01,250 And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den. 344 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:05,537 And the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords, 345 00:20:05,537 --> 00:20:08,540 that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 346 00:20:08,807 --> 00:20:12,077 And then the king went into his palace and spent the night fasting. 347 00:20:12,294 --> 00:20:15,747 No diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. 348 00:20:16,164 --> 00:20:20,702 Then at the break of day the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. 349 00:20:20,903 --> 00:20:23,639 And as he came near to the den where Daniel was, 350 00:20:23,639 --> 00:20:27,709 he cried out in a tone of anguish, and the king declared to Daniel, 351 00:20:27,709 --> 00:20:31,413 oh, Daniel, servant of the living God has your God 352 00:20:31,530 --> 00:20:37,219 whom you serve continually been able to deliver you from the lion's friends. 353 00:20:37,219 --> 00:20:39,688 Do you see when you obey 354 00:20:39,688 --> 00:20:43,742 God in the midst of a culture that is moving in the opposite direction, 355 00:20:43,892 --> 00:20:48,480 you will have haters, you will have enemies. 356 00:20:48,563 --> 00:20:53,185 You will have people who lie about you, gossip about you, attack you, 357 00:20:53,218 --> 00:20:54,770 who get in your way. 358 00:20:54,770 --> 00:20:57,623 You will also have. Darius's. 359 00:20:58,974 --> 00:21:00,142 Men and women who are. 360 00:21:00,142 --> 00:21:02,010 Curious. 361 00:21:02,010 --> 00:21:04,947 Men, and women who are drawn to you, 362 00:21:04,947 --> 00:21:07,983 who are wondering why do you live the way you live? 363 00:21:07,983 --> 00:21:10,352 Why do you do the things that you do? 364 00:21:10,352 --> 00:21:13,939 Men and women whose curiosity will lead them to the brink, 365 00:21:14,072 --> 00:21:17,576 and they will peer down into the den of your obedience 366 00:21:17,693 --> 00:21:22,914 and they will wonder out loud, will your God come through? 367 00:21:23,582 --> 00:21:25,350 That's what Darius does. 368 00:21:25,350 --> 00:21:28,971 He sends Daniel to the lions and he says, May the God that you serve 369 00:21:28,971 --> 00:21:29,988 come through for you. 370 00:21:29,988 --> 00:21:31,857 He can't sleep. He can't. 371 00:21:31,857 --> 00:21:33,408 He can't entertain himself. 372 00:21:33,408 --> 00:21:36,528 And then the minute the sun comes up, he rushes to the den 373 00:21:36,662 --> 00:21:39,414 and he's asking a question. Not for Daniel. 374 00:21:39,414 --> 00:21:42,150 He's asking a question for himself. 375 00:21:42,150 --> 00:21:45,420 Has your God proven true? 376 00:21:45,420 --> 00:21:45,921 Friends? 377 00:21:47,005 --> 00:21:50,008 What if. 378 00:21:50,058 --> 00:21:52,427 What if the tool that God wants to use 379 00:21:52,427 --> 00:21:55,430 to bring your husband to faith. 380 00:21:56,548 --> 00:21:57,499 Your sister? 381 00:21:57,499 --> 00:21:58,433 Your brother? 382 00:21:58,433 --> 00:21:59,368 Your wife? 383 00:21:59,368 --> 00:22:00,419 Your roommate? 384 00:22:00,419 --> 00:22:02,754 Your friend 385 00:22:02,754 --> 00:22:06,091 is your regular obedience. 386 00:22:06,892 --> 00:22:09,628 The contrasting narrative 387 00:22:09,628 --> 00:22:12,864 of the way you live, the contrasting integrity 388 00:22:13,131 --> 00:22:16,368 of the way you move even though it threatens you, 389 00:22:16,501 --> 00:22:21,390 even though it leads to opposition, even though it lands you in the den. 390 00:22:21,506 --> 00:22:25,110 What if that is the moment in which that person you care 391 00:22:25,110 --> 00:22:28,430 so deeply about stares into your life 392 00:22:28,430 --> 00:22:32,034 and says, is your God real? 393 00:22:32,100 --> 00:22:35,754 God does not waste your obedience. 394 00:22:38,390 --> 00:22:41,393 He does not waste the opposition. 395 00:22:41,493 --> 00:22:45,180 It creates opportunity for observation 396 00:22:45,347 --> 00:22:48,350 as to his reality. 397 00:22:48,617 --> 00:22:53,388 Brushing your teeth spiritually matters. 398 00:22:55,006 --> 00:22:57,242 Your integrity 399 00:22:57,242 --> 00:22:58,727 matters. 400 00:22:58,727 --> 00:23:02,431 It creates opportunity for observation, but. 401 00:23:02,431 --> 00:23:04,232 Not only that, let me show you my third point. 402 00:23:04,232 --> 00:23:08,186 It's not just that regular obedience in real life, 403 00:23:08,537 --> 00:23:10,972 but it's also that's the plan of God. 404 00:23:10,972 --> 00:23:13,892 God's plan for salvaje. 405 00:23:13,892 --> 00:23:18,063 Look how Daniel answers Darius in verse 21. 406 00:23:18,947 --> 00:23:22,217 Then Daniel said to the king, O King, live forever. 407 00:23:23,001 --> 00:23:26,304 My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouths. 408 00:23:26,304 --> 00:23:30,208 And they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him, 409 00:23:30,392 --> 00:23:33,445 and also before you, O King, I have done no harm. 410 00:23:33,895 --> 00:23:37,199 And then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded 411 00:23:37,199 --> 00:23:39,501 that Daniel be taken up out of the den. 412 00:23:39,501 --> 00:23:42,687 So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm 413 00:23:42,687 --> 00:23:45,924 was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 414 00:23:46,191 --> 00:23:48,293 Skip down to verse 25. 415 00:23:48,293 --> 00:23:52,130 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages 416 00:23:52,130 --> 00:23:55,584 that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied to you. 417 00:23:55,700 --> 00:23:59,521 I make a decree that in all my royal dominion people 418 00:23:59,521 --> 00:24:02,507 are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. 419 00:24:02,541 --> 00:24:05,544 For he is the living God enduring forever. 420 00:24:05,610 --> 00:24:07,712 His kingdom shall never be destroyed. 421 00:24:07,712 --> 00:24:09,781 His dominion shall be to the end. 422 00:24:09,781 --> 00:24:11,600 He delivers and he rescues. 423 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:14,603 He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, for 424 00:24:14,603 --> 00:24:18,173 he has saved Daniel from the power of the lion's friends. 425 00:24:18,290 --> 00:24:21,626 This story begins with regular prayer. 426 00:24:21,626 --> 00:24:24,963 It ends with the king writing a worship song. 427 00:24:27,382 --> 00:24:30,769 Regular obedience in real life 428 00:24:30,869 --> 00:24:34,773 is how God leads people to himself. 429 00:24:34,773 --> 00:24:38,210 Friends, to get this story, forget Darius, who cares about him. 430 00:24:38,210 --> 00:24:39,678 You don't know him, and neither do I. 431 00:24:39,678 --> 00:24:43,882 I want you to imagine what it would be like for your husband to be next 432 00:24:43,882 --> 00:24:48,386 to your wife, next to your brother, in front of you, in the pew, hands raised, 433 00:24:48,436 --> 00:24:52,157 singing the songs we sing, saying, I know that God is good. 434 00:24:52,290 --> 00:24:53,942 I've seen his goodness. 435 00:24:53,942 --> 00:24:56,244 And I met him 436 00:24:56,244 --> 00:25:00,415 through the daily obedience of you. 437 00:25:03,685 --> 00:25:05,570 That is God's plan. 438 00:25:05,570 --> 00:25:08,039 That's always been God's plan. 439 00:25:08,039 --> 00:25:09,174 Build the boat. 440 00:25:09,174 --> 00:25:11,276 Go toe to toe with Pharaoh. 441 00:25:11,276 --> 00:25:14,329 Keep the Sabbath, eat the bread from heaven. 442 00:25:14,329 --> 00:25:17,065 Get water from a rock. Obey me. 443 00:25:17,065 --> 00:25:22,170 God says so that they will know I'm real friends. 444 00:25:22,170 --> 00:25:25,891 If you're here this weekend and you're not yet a Christian, my desire 445 00:25:25,941 --> 00:25:30,862 is for you to see that all of Daniel six is God's pursuit of Darius. 446 00:25:30,862 --> 00:25:31,379 His heart. 447 00:25:33,181 --> 00:25:33,632 The God of 448 00:25:33,632 --> 00:25:37,435 the Bible, is a God who's for you, who. 449 00:25:37,435 --> 00:25:40,488 Loves you, who wants to forgive you. 450 00:25:40,488 --> 00:25:45,377 Even the differences, the contrast, the weirdness of the Christian 451 00:25:45,377 --> 00:25:48,380 who invited you this weekend. 452 00:25:48,780 --> 00:25:51,800 Is God's attempt to get your attention. 453 00:25:52,467 --> 00:25:54,536 Be curious. 454 00:25:54,536 --> 00:25:56,521 Ask questions. 455 00:25:56,521 --> 00:25:59,491 Wonder whether or not this God is real? 456 00:25:59,491 --> 00:26:01,343 Watch him show up. 457 00:26:01,343 --> 00:26:03,295 A brother or sister in Christ. 458 00:26:03,295 --> 00:26:05,330 I know you might think, well, good for Daniel. 459 00:26:05,330 --> 00:26:09,150 God use Daniel's obedience to get the king's attention. 460 00:26:09,317 --> 00:26:11,820 That's Daniel, that's that's not me. 461 00:26:11,820 --> 00:26:13,138 But friends, listen to me. 462 00:26:13,138 --> 00:26:15,440 This is what God has always done. 463 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:18,743 You are a Christian today, whether you realize it or not. 464 00:26:18,893 --> 00:26:22,948 Because of the regular obedience of Jesus. 465 00:26:25,133 --> 00:26:28,637 Jesus who goes to the cross to carry his sin, not mine. 466 00:26:29,421 --> 00:26:29,988 And you know why? 467 00:26:29,988 --> 00:26:31,856 He can carry his sin and not mine? 468 00:26:31,856 --> 00:26:33,325 Because daily 469 00:26:34,826 --> 00:26:37,412 he said no to selfishness. 470 00:26:37,412 --> 00:26:40,398 Daily he said no to laziness 471 00:26:40,615 --> 00:26:43,351 daily he said no to hatred. 472 00:26:43,351 --> 00:26:47,038 Jesus, who is faithful minute by minute, day by day, month 473 00:26:47,155 --> 00:26:50,208 by month, year by year, decade by decade. 474 00:26:50,308 --> 00:26:56,298 It's his regular obedience that makes his epic obedience on the cross. 475 00:26:56,548 --> 00:26:59,334 Good news for me, 476 00:26:59,334 --> 00:27:01,803 so that when he comes up under the anger and wrath 477 00:27:01,803 --> 00:27:05,573 and judgment of God, it's for my sin, not his, because he didn't have any. 478 00:27:05,607 --> 00:27:09,744 So that when he dies and then raises three days later, it's my victory 479 00:27:09,744 --> 00:27:16,067 as well as his because he, through his regular obedience, could carry my sin. 480 00:27:16,067 --> 00:27:19,170 Friends, this is the very mechanism 481 00:27:19,170 --> 00:27:22,407 that God used to win you to himself. 482 00:27:22,490 --> 00:27:25,944 It's the very thing he wants to do in and through 483 00:27:25,944 --> 00:27:29,030 you to change the world around you. 484 00:27:29,030 --> 00:27:33,084 Stop ringing your hands about the state of our country, 485 00:27:33,084 --> 00:27:37,489 and start getting serious about the state of your own obedience. 486 00:27:39,207 --> 00:27:41,126 Take your eyes off of the horizon 487 00:27:41,126 --> 00:27:44,929 and what might be coming in the future, and put them a step in front of you. 488 00:27:45,647 --> 00:27:47,966 What's the next step of integrity? 489 00:27:47,966 --> 00:27:50,518 What's the next step of forgiveness? 490 00:27:50,518 --> 00:27:53,521 What's the next step of apologizing? 491 00:27:53,521 --> 00:27:54,773 Of reconciling? 492 00:27:54,773 --> 00:27:57,776 What does God want to do today 493 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:01,730 to reach the Darius's around me? 494 00:28:01,730 --> 00:28:04,949 Brothers and sisters, real obedience in real 495 00:28:04,949 --> 00:28:09,020 life is God's plan to point people to Jesus. 496 00:28:09,020 --> 00:28:12,323 It will not be wasted. 497 00:28:12,540 --> 00:28:16,227 I know many of you have the courage for the epic moments, 498 00:28:16,227 --> 00:28:23,101 but what God is calling us to is a daily courage, a minute by minute. 499 00:28:23,401 --> 00:28:26,187 Courage to be obedient, 500 00:28:26,187 --> 00:28:29,190 to be dependent on him. 501 00:28:29,307 --> 00:28:31,259 Let me pray for us. Father God. 502 00:28:31,259 --> 00:28:34,796 Thank you for Daniel six and how ordinary it is. 503 00:28:36,498 --> 00:28:39,501 Most of us feel ordinary. 504 00:28:39,801 --> 00:28:41,186 Thank you that you have been 505 00:28:41,186 --> 00:28:44,189 using the obedience that changed lives, 506 00:28:44,305 --> 00:28:48,927 the testimony of ordinary people for 2000 years 507 00:28:48,927 --> 00:28:51,930 to change the world. 508 00:28:52,831 --> 00:28:55,817 Use it to change our families, 509 00:28:56,184 --> 00:28:59,187 our communities, our culture, 510 00:28:59,537 --> 00:29:02,307 one step at a time. 511 00:29:02,307 --> 00:29:04,042 Jesus name we pray. Amen.