1 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:10,680 Joke's on you. You're the ones in trouble. I'm not in trouble yet 2 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:14,480 because I ain't said nothing can be used against me in the court of 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,160 law. Hey, good morning, Mary Sue. How you doing, huh? 4 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:21,120 I'm already getting ready for this section over here, 5 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:25,280 right? Hey, good morning. How we doing, 6 00:00:25,930 --> 00:00:29,210 everybody? Good? Guess what I got. That's what I thought 7 00:00:30,410 --> 00:00:34,170 right this morning. 8 00:00:34,570 --> 00:00:37,210 We're going to be talking about a very, very 9 00:00:38,250 --> 00:00:41,649 famous Bible story. This chapter 10 00:00:41,649 --> 00:00:45,410 contains one of the most well known stories in the 11 00:00:45,410 --> 00:00:49,130 Bible. And I remember growing up, my parents 12 00:00:49,130 --> 00:00:52,970 had all these children's books of Bible 13 00:00:52,970 --> 00:00:56,650 stories and it had this little gilded edge on them and they had 14 00:00:56,650 --> 00:01:00,450 like paintings and stuff of the characters. I guarantee my mom 15 00:01:00,530 --> 00:01:04,050 still has Daniel in the lion's den in a brown toy 16 00:01:04,050 --> 00:01:07,050 box in the back room of her house. I'm probably going to try to dig 17 00:01:07,050 --> 00:01:10,010 it out tomorrow when I go over. But I gre. I mean, I grew up 18 00:01:10,010 --> 00:01:13,770 on these stories and they were fantastic and they were big and they 19 00:01:13,770 --> 00:01:17,610 were grand. But it doesn't have the same glory and nuance that 20 00:01:17,610 --> 00:01:21,000 it does now that I'm an adult and I understand a little bit more. And 21 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,320 as I was preparing for this message, I'm like, God, this is like. 22 00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:28,640 This is like Sunday school. Like, we all know this. He said, no, they don't. 23 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,960 Everybody doesn't know this story. Not everybody knows this story. 24 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:36,680 You think just cause you grew up hearing it and understanding it that 25 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:40,480 everybody has grown up understanding it? I said, yeah, I live in Tennessee. Like, 26 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:44,280 we all know these stories. No, I don't. I said, okay, 27 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:46,840 Lord. So he said, here's what you need to do. You need to teach those 28 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:50,680 that don't know it, and you need to remind those that do of my goodness 29 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:54,520 and my power. So, okay, well, that's what we'll do. So if you've never heard 30 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:58,280 this story, buckle up. It's wild. Okay, we're going to talk about it this 31 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:02,000 morning. If you have heard this story, don't disconnect. Because God wants to remind 32 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,280 you of his glory and his power. Amen. 33 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:09,680 Story includes political jealousy, the 34 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:13,400 vanity of a king, God's miraculous power, 35 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:17,800 and justice and violence. So if you would stand with 36 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,280 me if you're able. And we're going to read a 37 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:24,960 passage at the very end of the chapter and then we're going to back up 38 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,760 and go to the front. Okay? Are we ready? I 39 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,840 make a decree that in all my royal 40 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,600 dominion, people are to tremble and fear before 41 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:38,960 the God of Daniel, for he is the living God 42 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,820 enduring forever. His kingdom shall never be 43 00:02:42,820 --> 00:02:46,420 destroyed and his dominion shall be to the end. 44 00:02:46,740 --> 00:02:50,500 He delivers and rescues, he works signs and 45 00:02:50,500 --> 00:02:54,020 wonders in heaven and on earth. He who has 46 00:02:54,020 --> 00:02:57,820 saved Daniel from the power of the lions. Father, we thank you 47 00:02:57,820 --> 00:03:01,300 for your word. I thank you for this day. I thank you for 48 00:03:01,300 --> 00:03:05,060 waking us up this morning, keeping us in our right minds and giving us a 49 00:03:05,060 --> 00:03:08,500 reason to live. And today I pray that those under the sound of my voice 50 00:03:08,500 --> 00:03:12,220 would be taught or reminded by your Holy Spirit, not by me, 51 00:03:12,220 --> 00:03:15,520 but God. I pray your anointing would be all over me and that you would 52 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:19,280 use me to convey the message to your people that our eyes 53 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:23,000 would be open to see your miraculous life giving power in 54 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,800 the pages of your word. God, we love you and we thank you. It's in 55 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,240 Christ's name I pray. Amen. And amen. You guys can be seated. 56 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:39,840 So by the time, by the time we reach chapter 57 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,630 six in the book of Daniel, 58 00:03:43,510 --> 00:03:47,190 Daniel is somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 59 00:03:47,270 --> 00:03:51,030 years old. Did you know that? Probably didn't know that, 60 00:03:51,270 --> 00:03:55,110 right? You might have thought, coming on the heels of the story with the Hebrew 61 00:03:55,110 --> 00:03:58,270 boys, that Daniel might have been a teenager, a young adult. And I know if 62 00:03:58,270 --> 00:04:01,950 you're 70, you're like, hey, back off, bucko. And the fact 63 00:04:01,950 --> 00:04:04,790 that bucko was your term of disrespect shows 64 00:04:05,430 --> 00:04:06,950 near 70. Okay? 65 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:13,000 Daniel's in the neighborhood of 70. Ish. Okay? 66 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:17,240 When this happens, that's about the age where you've pretty 67 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:21,080 much got your mind made up, am I right? If you're 70, you 68 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:24,680 know, I'll give you exhibit A. Earlier this 69 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:28,520 year, Pastor Ronnie got up here in a Beatles T shirt 70 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:33,000 and, and made something to the lines of, I don't care about fashion. 71 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,830 This shirt is comfortable to me. But then he pointed out my 72 00:04:36,830 --> 00:04:40,270 shoelaces match my hat. So I was like, are you really not 73 00:04:40,270 --> 00:04:43,910 concerned about fashion? Because I see what you did there, 74 00:04:43,910 --> 00:04:47,310 bud. I like what you got going. Then 75 00:04:47,630 --> 00:04:51,430 a pastor friend of mine sent me a video. Pretty scary video. There was 76 00:04:51,430 --> 00:04:55,190 a scene where somebody was attacking a crowded place and 77 00:04:55,190 --> 00:04:58,870 there was gunfire going on and people were running everywhere. And at the 78 00:04:58,870 --> 00:05:02,150 end of the video, there's this seasoned guy just. 79 00:05:03,430 --> 00:05:07,150 And there's people running and there's gunfire and he's just walking. And 80 00:05:07,150 --> 00:05:09,630 me and the guy that sent me, both of us said, that's Fred Jones right 81 00:05:09,630 --> 00:05:13,430 there. God forbid something ever happened. Wherever he's 82 00:05:13,430 --> 00:05:16,950 at, he's like, it's my time. I'm just, you know what, whatever, not getting in 83 00:05:16,950 --> 00:05:19,670 a hurry. I'm not running for this. Right. 84 00:05:22,630 --> 00:05:26,030 It's not that they don't care. It's that they are 85 00:05:26,030 --> 00:05:29,870 settled in their spirit. Age can 86 00:05:29,870 --> 00:05:33,670 make you cynical, or it can make you settled. You 87 00:05:33,670 --> 00:05:36,870 can get old and you can be cynical about things, or you can just be 88 00:05:36,870 --> 00:05:40,270 settled in your spirit. And Daniel was 89 00:05:40,830 --> 00:05:44,470 at that age to be settled in his spirit. Let's pick up the 90 00:05:44,470 --> 00:05:47,070 chapter. This is one through three. You don't have to read it with me. I'll 91 00:05:47,070 --> 00:05:50,910 read it to you. It pleased Darius. Darius 92 00:05:50,910 --> 00:05:54,670 is the king to set over the kingdom 120 93 00:05:54,670 --> 00:05:58,310 satraps to be throughout the whole kingdom and over 94 00:05:58,390 --> 00:06:02,230 them three high officials, of whom Daniel was 95 00:06:02,230 --> 00:06:05,990 one, to whom these satraps should give an account so the 96 00:06:05,990 --> 00:06:09,630 king might suffer no loss. Did you pick that up? What's happening? No, you didn't? 97 00:06:09,630 --> 00:06:13,429 I'm going to explain it. The king doesn't want to lose money, so 98 00:06:13,429 --> 00:06:16,710 he sets 120 provincial rulers 99 00:06:17,110 --> 00:06:20,630 over the kingdom. And then over those 120, 100 00:06:20,870 --> 00:06:24,670 he sets up three big dogs. And then over the three 101 00:06:24,670 --> 00:06:27,750 big dogs, he. He's got one big dog. Got it. 102 00:06:28,870 --> 00:06:32,710 Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other 103 00:06:32,790 --> 00:06:36,390 high officials and satraps because an excellent 104 00:06:36,790 --> 00:06:40,550 spirit was in him. And the king planned to set 105 00:06:40,550 --> 00:06:44,030 him over the whole kingdom. See what's happening here? There's 106 00:06:44,030 --> 00:06:47,710 120 satraps over the kingdom, 107 00:06:47,710 --> 00:06:51,230 provincial rulers. Daniel is the leader in the 108 00:06:51,230 --> 00:06:54,990 clubhouse. Why is Daniel the leader in 109 00:06:54,990 --> 00:06:58,820 the clubhouse? Because he had an excellent 110 00:06:59,220 --> 00:07:02,580 spirit. An excellent spirit. This is a 111 00:07:02,740 --> 00:07:06,500 Hebrew word meaning exceedingly or 112 00:07:06,500 --> 00:07:10,300 extraordinary. Basically, Daniel 113 00:07:10,300 --> 00:07:13,980 was above reproach. I want to remind 114 00:07:13,980 --> 00:07:17,220 you of something. Daniel is in Babylonian 115 00:07:17,220 --> 00:07:19,780 captivity. Do you know what that means? 116 00:07:20,900 --> 00:07:24,620 The people of the Babylonian kings came and took all the 117 00:07:24,620 --> 00:07:28,120 Jews from Jerusalem and. And said, you are all coming with us. 118 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:31,560 And now you're going to live here in Babylon and you're going to be slaves 119 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:35,280 to us. And we will appoint some of your smart guys to 120 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:39,000 be as our officials. And if you. If you don't like 121 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:42,160 what we're doing, if you don't bow down to this statue, we'll just throw you 122 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:45,920 in a furnace. But this is not like they just moved 123 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:49,720 to Tallahassee. Right? That's for you. 124 00:07:52,450 --> 00:07:56,090 This wasn't a choice they had. They didn't say, hey, guys, 125 00:07:56,090 --> 00:07:59,730 we're retired. Let's get an oceanfront view. Are you hearing 126 00:07:59,730 --> 00:08:02,850 me? They are captives 127 00:08:03,330 --> 00:08:07,090 in another country. And Daniel still chose 128 00:08:07,090 --> 00:08:10,530 to operate with an excellent spirit. Here's what I want you to understand, 129 00:08:10,690 --> 00:08:13,570 ladies and gentlemen. Ooh. That wasn't supposed to happen. 130 00:08:14,770 --> 00:08:18,570 What I pushed. Oh, my gosh. I done messed it up. 131 00:08:18,570 --> 00:08:21,510 Y' all gonna do it for me? Here's what I want you to understand. 132 00:08:22,150 --> 00:08:25,590 Your circumstances should never determine your 133 00:08:25,590 --> 00:08:29,190 character. Your circumstances 134 00:08:29,590 --> 00:08:32,950 should never determine your character. 135 00:08:35,190 --> 00:08:38,910 Daniel didn't have a choice about his environment. Here's where it's 136 00:08:38,910 --> 00:08:42,750 different. Circumstances are things that are happening to you that are outside of 137 00:08:42,750 --> 00:08:46,150 your control. Some of us are complaining about our situation, 138 00:08:47,110 --> 00:08:50,940 but we keep putting ourselves in a bad situation. If you 139 00:08:50,940 --> 00:08:54,580 hang out in the barbershop long enough, you can't complain. When you 140 00:08:54,580 --> 00:08:58,420 decide to get a haircut, nobody held you. I was complaining 141 00:08:58,420 --> 00:09:02,060 about getting a tattoo. Marva's like, I feel bad for you. You chose that. 142 00:09:02,540 --> 00:09:04,620 Like, thanks for the compassion, lady. 143 00:09:06,780 --> 00:09:10,580 It hurts so bad. She said, you signed up. It's not like 144 00:09:10,580 --> 00:09:13,980 you were kidnapped and they put you in a van and was like, tell us 145 00:09:13,980 --> 00:09:17,680 what we want to know. That's not 146 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:21,360 how that happens. It's a choice, right? For me. Wasn't a choice 147 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:25,120 for some. Daniel didn't choose. Daniel 148 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:28,960 didn't choose to be in captivity. What he did choose was how 149 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:32,200 he was going to operate, given his situation and his 150 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:35,760 circumstance. And he chose to operate with an excellent spirit. 151 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,880 Daniel's integrity made him the subject of attack. 152 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:46,140 Daniel. Daniel wasn't sinless. He was 153 00:09:46,140 --> 00:09:49,900 upstanding. And upstanding means that 154 00:09:50,620 --> 00:09:54,220 despite your circumstances, that you are going to operate 155 00:09:54,300 --> 00:09:56,380 differently. You got it? 156 00:10:01,500 --> 00:10:05,100 Let's keep reading. Then. The high 157 00:10:05,100 --> 00:10:08,780 officials and the satrap sought to find ground for a 158 00:10:08,780 --> 00:10:12,620 complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom. 159 00:10:12,780 --> 00:10:16,560 But they could find no ground for complaint or any 160 00:10:16,560 --> 00:10:20,360 fault because he was faithful, and no error or 161 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:23,760 fault was found in him. They had no dirt on 162 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:27,240 Daniel. Let me ask you a question. 163 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:32,600 If you guys wanted to run for political office right now, 164 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:37,720 how far would they be able to go back before they found something on 165 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:40,600 you, huh? 166 00:10:42,370 --> 00:10:45,930 Find you on World Star Hip hop, right? You're on a 167 00:10:45,930 --> 00:10:48,850 bus. And they're like, yeah, got him right here. Look. Pastor Justin 168 00:10:49,170 --> 00:10:52,730 wiling out, right? And the reason why everything's 169 00:10:52,730 --> 00:10:55,810 filmed right away is because this is always in your hand. 170 00:10:56,929 --> 00:11:00,530 So they got it ready. I said this challenge to the first service. I'm gonna 171 00:11:00,530 --> 00:11:03,050 put this challenge to you. And I regret it. Cause I'm gonna have to do 172 00:11:03,050 --> 00:11:06,530 it. You married folk in the room. I'm talking to you. Married folk. Look up. 173 00:11:06,530 --> 00:11:10,220 Listen up. I want to issue a boredom challenge to 174 00:11:10,220 --> 00:11:13,980 you next time you're at a restaurant or you're out on 175 00:11:13,980 --> 00:11:17,700 a date or doing something with your spouse and there's A moment where 176 00:11:17,700 --> 00:11:20,740 your spouse gets up to go to the restroom. 177 00:11:21,700 --> 00:11:25,380 Do not pick up your phone. Be bored for 178 00:11:25,620 --> 00:11:28,740 30 seconds. Five minutes, however long it takes. 179 00:11:29,220 --> 00:11:32,860 Next time you're in the doctor's office and you're waiting on 180 00:11:32,860 --> 00:11:36,350 somebody, stop scrolling. I need you to pick up the Highlights 181 00:11:36,350 --> 00:11:39,190 magazine. It's a miracle that they are still in business. 182 00:11:41,670 --> 00:11:45,270 I mean, I thought they would have never survived, but here they are in every 183 00:11:45,270 --> 00:11:48,630 doctor's office across the planet. They going to be like, Mr. 184 00:11:48,630 --> 00:11:51,670 Burkett, it's your time for your appointment. You'll be like, I can't find a shoe. 185 00:11:52,230 --> 00:11:54,790 You got to hang on, right? 186 00:11:56,710 --> 00:12:00,350 Man, people used to have magazines in their bathrooms and books 187 00:12:00,350 --> 00:12:04,090 and everything. When I grew up, you had to read the back of the 188 00:12:04,090 --> 00:12:07,330 cereal box. Do nothing 189 00:12:07,330 --> 00:12:10,930 anymore. Why? Because we constantly gotta have entertainment. We gotta 190 00:12:10,930 --> 00:12:14,650 constantly be entertained. So it's no wonder that everybody's got all 191 00:12:14,650 --> 00:12:18,250 your dirt on camera. Praise God they didn't have 192 00:12:18,250 --> 00:12:19,730 ring cameras in the 90s. 193 00:12:23,730 --> 00:12:25,410 I wouldn't even be on this stage. 194 00:12:27,900 --> 00:12:31,300 The other day, somebody tried to say I was a convicted felon. I said, the 195 00:12:31,300 --> 00:12:34,380 devil's a liar. How dare you slander my name like that. 196 00:12:34,940 --> 00:12:37,740 How dare you say that I was a criminal. 197 00:12:38,620 --> 00:12:40,060 You can't prove it. 198 00:12:42,140 --> 00:12:45,380 Somebody gonna do a background check? Like, I'm a Metro officer, I bet I can 199 00:12:45,380 --> 00:12:49,180 find it. Go ahead. Good luck, big boy. Go ahead and check that 200 00:12:49,180 --> 00:12:52,300 live string out from December, okay? You'll see how big God is. 201 00:12:54,950 --> 00:12:57,030 They didn't have no dirt on Daniel. 202 00:13:03,110 --> 00:13:06,950 The only way they could get Daniel to slip up was an attempt 203 00:13:07,270 --> 00:13:11,030 to compromise his faith. Look what they said. We shall not 204 00:13:11,030 --> 00:13:14,870 find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it 205 00:13:14,870 --> 00:13:18,590 in connection with the law of his God. The only way they 206 00:13:18,590 --> 00:13:21,390 was going to get Daniel to mess up was to get him to try to 207 00:13:21,390 --> 00:13:25,180 compromise his faith. And when you're a man of integrity, and 208 00:13:25,180 --> 00:13:28,900 you're a man of excellent spirit, that means you operate that way no matter what. 209 00:13:28,900 --> 00:13:31,940 And they know that the only way they can get you is get you to 210 00:13:31,940 --> 00:13:35,140 compromise. Enemy got me to compromise. 211 00:13:35,300 --> 00:13:39,140 Yesterday, I lost my mind on 212 00:13:39,140 --> 00:13:42,180 my kids. Two in particular, 213 00:13:43,060 --> 00:13:45,060 over some pepperoni pizza. 214 00:13:48,020 --> 00:13:51,810 I said. I mean, I yelled, screamed. What 215 00:13:51,810 --> 00:13:55,370 are we doing? What is the problem? 216 00:13:55,690 --> 00:13:58,810 We'd been in the house exactly seven seconds. 217 00:13:59,450 --> 00:14:03,250 Seven give you the scene. We get out of the car. I've got 218 00:14:03,250 --> 00:14:06,970 all the kids. I give one of them my key. I say, go inside, 219 00:14:07,290 --> 00:14:10,970 heat up the pizza. I'm going to bring the rest of the stuff inside. 220 00:14:11,050 --> 00:14:14,490 By the time I get inside, two of them are coming at me like, 221 00:14:14,490 --> 00:14:17,690 dad, dad, whatever. I said, absolutely not. 222 00:14:19,770 --> 00:14:23,610 This is not what we're gonna do. What is 223 00:14:23,610 --> 00:14:27,330 the problem? She grabbed a piece and the crust 224 00:14:27,330 --> 00:14:31,090 fell off. And so she put it back and grabbed another piece. I'm 225 00:14:31,090 --> 00:14:34,730 like, why did you do that? That's your piece. 226 00:14:35,530 --> 00:14:39,330 And you, why are you being so bossy? And the other three are just 227 00:14:39,330 --> 00:14:43,170 like on the out's perimeter. And I'm just going 228 00:14:43,170 --> 00:14:46,920 off. I'm yelling, I'm yelling and I'm loud. Anyway, 229 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:50,520 I didn't yell for your benefit just now. But I'm yelling at 230 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:54,360 them over some pepperoni pizza 231 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:58,160 now. But I wasn't yelling at them over the pizza. 232 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:01,599 I had become fed up that they were bickering because they'd been 233 00:15:01,599 --> 00:15:05,240 bickering for days and weeks and months. And I let all 234 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:08,840 that frustration build up and spill out onto somebody else. 235 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:13,440 Sometimes when somebody's blown up on you, it ain't what you did. It's that 236 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:17,240 they've let it just build up and build up and build up until it overflows. 237 00:15:17,770 --> 00:15:20,330 If I was Kevin, he'd have thrown something on you right now. 238 00:15:22,010 --> 00:15:25,530 Like, man, Milky Ways water bottle. I can't do this church right now. 239 00:15:25,530 --> 00:15:29,370 Like, it's a 4D experience. It's like Disney World. 240 00:15:32,170 --> 00:15:35,290 Watched a guy take a Milky Way to the eye socket last week, 241 00:15:36,410 --> 00:15:40,010 Dead serious over a glasses cot, rubbing his head. 242 00:15:41,130 --> 00:15:44,850 And then I realized he wasn't that bad off. Cause I saw him open the 243 00:15:44,850 --> 00:15:48,520 Milky Way. I said, man, like. I was like, yeah, 244 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:52,280 I see what's happening right now. Don't listen. 245 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:55,840 You better not say nothing out there with caramel in your teeth. 246 00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:00,720 Man, I lost my mind and I had to walk. I did one of these, 247 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:07,880 walked off, came back and said, guys, 248 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:11,520 I'm wrong. I didn't say I'm sorry, 249 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:15,290 but I said, dad was wrong. Dad should not have lost 250 00:16:15,290 --> 00:16:18,610 his temper like that. Dad should not have yelled at you like that. What you 251 00:16:18,610 --> 00:16:22,410 did didn't warrant my level of response. I'm sorry, I'm wrong. Will you 252 00:16:22,410 --> 00:16:26,050 guys forgive me? I didn't say I'm wrong, but I'm 253 00:16:26,050 --> 00:16:29,610 tired of you bickering. You guys are arguing all the time. I said, I'm wrong. 254 00:16:31,930 --> 00:16:35,450 And then I let the air settle for about 19 seconds. 255 00:16:36,810 --> 00:16:39,940 I said, now let's address the issue 256 00:16:40,900 --> 00:16:44,580 that we didn't get resolved. But just cause I blew up and 257 00:16:44,580 --> 00:16:47,860 repented doesn't mean we just don't have the issue resolved. 258 00:16:48,580 --> 00:16:52,100 And so we resolved the issue. And it's important that children 259 00:16:52,340 --> 00:16:56,140 see that. That you are quick to repent. Because I'm 260 00:16:56,140 --> 00:16:59,060 not raising kids that aren't quick to repent. 261 00:17:00,180 --> 00:17:03,900 Excellent. Doesn't mean Daniel was sinless. It means he operated 262 00:17:03,900 --> 00:17:07,500 with integrity. And I want to raise young men and women that operate with 263 00:17:07,500 --> 00:17:11,199 integrity. So we say, hey, my dad was w. But one thing 264 00:17:11,199 --> 00:17:14,999 he did get right was when he got it wrong, he made it right by 265 00:17:14,999 --> 00:17:18,799 repenting to the Lord. Confession is important, 266 00:17:19,039 --> 00:17:21,999 ladies and gentlemen. So 267 00:17:23,279 --> 00:17:25,199 we don't order pizza anymore. 268 00:17:27,439 --> 00:17:31,079 There was a lot. We don't do anything. Pizza's not just a go to. That's 269 00:17:31,079 --> 00:17:34,839 one of those lazy parenting acts like I don't care. It's 8:30. We gotta feed 270 00:17:34,839 --> 00:17:38,630 them according to the law or. And I'm not cooking 271 00:17:38,630 --> 00:17:40,270 omelets for nobody tonight. 272 00:17:45,950 --> 00:17:49,510 The only way they could get Daniel to slip up was an 273 00:17:49,510 --> 00:17:53,110 attempt to compromise his faith. You know, that's always the 274 00:17:53,110 --> 00:17:56,910 playbook. Compromise. Compromise is always the 275 00:17:56,910 --> 00:18:00,470 playbook. It's always the playbook. And Pastor 276 00:18:00,470 --> 00:18:03,910 Kevin's message where he had the big boulder out here and then he had the 277 00:18:03,910 --> 00:18:06,910 little stones. And if you weren't here, I'm gonna remind you, he said it's never 278 00:18:06,910 --> 00:18:10,650 the big stones. It's always those little ones that get 279 00:18:10,650 --> 00:18:14,450 you. Okay. Nobody wakes up and has an 280 00:18:14,450 --> 00:18:17,850 affair that starts way down the road 281 00:18:19,050 --> 00:18:22,410 beforehand. How? Compromise. Cuz 282 00:18:22,410 --> 00:18:26,130 compromise always leads to more compromise. If you find the 283 00:18:26,130 --> 00:18:29,450 children of Israel in Judges chapter one, they are 284 00:18:29,450 --> 00:18:33,170 conquering Canaan land and they let one small group 285 00:18:33,170 --> 00:18:37,000 of Philistines in a valley because they quote 286 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:40,720 unquote had iron chariots. Basically what that meant was 287 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:44,360 they were hard to defeat. That's a hard, 288 00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:48,200 tough battle. I'd rather just not deal with it. It's not 289 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:51,600 gonna hurt if we let 150, 200 of them stay. 290 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:54,640 What it did was move the line that God had set. 291 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:59,240 And when you move the line and you move the line, you'll keep moving the 292 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:03,040 line. Because compromise always leads to more compromise. So that 293 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:05,840 in chapter one, they compromise once by chap. 294 00:19:06,620 --> 00:19:10,100 They're married to their women, they're worshiping their gods, and they're 295 00:19:10,100 --> 00:19:13,863 enslaved to their kings. Now I know it's not consequential order. It's like 1, 296 00:19:13,917 --> 00:19:17,420 2, 3, 4. There's a time period that happened, however, 297 00:19:17,740 --> 00:19:20,860 that's the progression with sin and compromise. 298 00:19:22,140 --> 00:19:25,980 And when you begin to compromise, it is not always sin at first, 299 00:19:26,140 --> 00:19:29,500 but it'll lead you there. Because eventually, 300 00:19:30,140 --> 00:19:33,500 if the line's here and you move it here and you move it here and 301 00:19:33,500 --> 00:19:35,500 you move it here, what happens when it's moved to here. 302 00:19:38,750 --> 00:19:42,430 You see what I'm saying? That's the only way they could get Daniel. Let's get 303 00:19:42,430 --> 00:19:45,950 him to compromise. Because one thing. He will 304 00:19:45,950 --> 00:19:49,590 either mess up and we got him, or he will have 305 00:19:49,590 --> 00:19:51,869 to abandon his faith. 306 00:19:54,670 --> 00:19:58,470 Look what they do in verse 10. Oh, I didn't finish it. I 307 00:19:58,470 --> 00:20:02,150 didn't finish it. Oh. The only way we 308 00:20:02,150 --> 00:20:04,350 can find it is in connection with the law of his God. So this is 309 00:20:04,350 --> 00:20:07,540 what they do. Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king. 310 00:20:07,690 --> 00:20:10,890 He said, oh, King Darius, live forever. Flattery. 311 00:20:11,130 --> 00:20:14,970 Anybody starts a conversation with me, oh, Pastor Justin, live forever. I'm like, what 312 00:20:14,970 --> 00:20:18,330 do you want, dad? You're so strong. 313 00:20:18,570 --> 00:20:22,370 We love you, dad. You're great. I'm thinking. 314 00:20:22,370 --> 00:20:26,090 Listen. All the officials of the kingdom, 315 00:20:26,090 --> 00:20:29,250 the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors, are 316 00:20:29,250 --> 00:20:33,050 agreed that the king should establish an ordinance 317 00:20:33,050 --> 00:20:36,650 and enforce an injunction that whoever makes petition to 318 00:20:36,650 --> 00:20:40,310 any God or man for 30 days, except to you, 319 00:20:40,550 --> 00:20:44,150 O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 320 00:20:45,270 --> 00:20:48,870 Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document 321 00:20:48,870 --> 00:20:52,110 so that it cannot be changed according to the law of the Medes and the 322 00:20:52,110 --> 00:20:55,750 Persians, which cannot be revoked. Therefore, King Darius 323 00:20:55,910 --> 00:20:59,190 signed the document, an injunction. His own vanity 324 00:20:59,270 --> 00:21:03,070 allowed him to be tricked into signing an ordinance that nobody could 325 00:21:03,070 --> 00:21:05,990 worship any God or any man except for him, 326 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:08,760 according to their law, for 30 days. 327 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:11,720 For 30 days. 328 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:16,200 Daniel wasn't dumb. 329 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:22,040 He knew that the document had been 330 00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:25,760 signed. And so what does he do? He goes to his house where 331 00:21:25,760 --> 00:21:28,840 it had windows in his upper chamber open towards 332 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:32,520 Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a 333 00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:36,230 day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he had 334 00:21:36,230 --> 00:21:39,950 done previously. So Daniel's not an 335 00:21:39,950 --> 00:21:43,470 idiot. He knows what's happening because he's on the official 336 00:21:43,630 --> 00:21:45,790 court. Right? Like, 337 00:21:48,110 --> 00:21:51,830 if I was just as surprised as you about chairs being in 338 00:21:51,830 --> 00:21:54,510 here this morning, that might be a problem, 339 00:21:55,550 --> 00:21:58,870 right? I knew that we had new chairs. You might not have. I bet you 340 00:21:58,870 --> 00:22:01,710 didn't know. There's card readers in that corner, little tap to pay. 341 00:22:04,020 --> 00:22:07,420 Yeah, you just put your. That's. I just want to see how many people is 342 00:22:07,420 --> 00:22:09,580 going to do that next Sunday. Like Pastor Johnson said, 343 00:22:12,420 --> 00:22:15,700 should be right here. And then I guess what, I will be at breakfast. I 344 00:22:15,700 --> 00:22:18,900 will be in trouble for that. You can't tell people that. They believe you. 345 00:22:22,340 --> 00:22:26,100 So Daniel's a part of the official court. Daniel knew 346 00:22:26,100 --> 00:22:29,820 what was happening, and in this moment, he's confronted with a test 347 00:22:29,820 --> 00:22:33,530 of loyalties. I love the king. I honor the king. 348 00:22:33,530 --> 00:22:37,330 This is my job. I'm good at my job. I'm 349 00:22:37,330 --> 00:22:40,730 supportive of the King. I'm doing what he's asking me to do. I'm 350 00:22:40,730 --> 00:22:44,530 embracing my situation. But I'm also loyal to Yahweh. 351 00:22:45,170 --> 00:22:49,010 I'm also loyal to the Lord. And this has put me in a 352 00:22:49,010 --> 00:22:52,610 tough spot because I'm not trying to dishonor the King. I'm not 353 00:22:52,610 --> 00:22:55,890 intentionally disobeying him. But I answer to a higher 354 00:22:56,050 --> 00:22:59,490 standard. There's a higher call on my life. 355 00:22:59,570 --> 00:23:03,410 And so I know you're telling me to bow only to you, but I 356 00:23:03,410 --> 00:23:07,250 simply cannot. But he doesn't just go into the 357 00:23:07,250 --> 00:23:10,530 royal court. Where does he go? Back to his house, 358 00:23:10,850 --> 00:23:14,050 in his room, as he had done before? 359 00:23:14,210 --> 00:23:18,010 Daniel didn't say, well, you know what? This is bad. I need to start 360 00:23:18,010 --> 00:23:21,650 praying 50 times a day. He also didn't 361 00:23:21,650 --> 00:23:25,330 say, this is bad. I. I'm giving up. And pray zero 362 00:23:25,330 --> 00:23:28,930 times a day. It says he prayed three times a 363 00:23:28,930 --> 00:23:32,450 day. As he had done previously. He just. He 364 00:23:32,450 --> 00:23:35,930 kept doing the same thing he'd always been doing. 365 00:23:36,410 --> 00:23:40,090 But not only does he pray, look at this. He got 366 00:23:40,090 --> 00:23:42,010 down on his knees. 367 00:23:44,570 --> 00:23:48,250 He changed his posture before the Lord. And 368 00:23:48,250 --> 00:23:51,930 some of us are standing here at the Lord like this, and all he's 369 00:23:51,930 --> 00:23:55,670 waiting on you to do is change your posture before him. Him. 370 00:23:56,790 --> 00:24:00,510 As Jesus changed his posture in the garden, as 371 00:24:00,510 --> 00:24:04,110 Stephen changed his posture in the Book of Acts, the very first 372 00:24:04,110 --> 00:24:07,910 martyr. Do you know about Stephen? Stephen was martyred. He was stoned 373 00:24:07,910 --> 00:24:11,509 to death after laying out the gospel. They couldn't 374 00:24:11,509 --> 00:24:15,190 handle it. And as he's on his knees, we 375 00:24:15,190 --> 00:24:18,710 see Jesus posture change. I want you to know, saints, that 376 00:24:18,710 --> 00:24:22,150 everywhere in the New Testament, when you find Jesus position 377 00:24:22,950 --> 00:24:26,310 after the Ascension, he is always mentioned as being 378 00:24:26,820 --> 00:24:30,100 seated at the right hand of God. When 379 00:24:30,100 --> 00:24:33,820 Stephen's posture is like this and he's being stoned, 380 00:24:33,820 --> 00:24:36,820 the first martyr, the posture of the king 381 00:24:37,220 --> 00:24:40,180 changes. And it says, I saw Jesus 382 00:24:40,500 --> 00:24:44,300 standing at the right hand of the Father. You mean to 383 00:24:44,300 --> 00:24:47,940 tell me that the Son of God's posture was changed and so 384 00:24:47,940 --> 00:24:51,660 moved because his posture changed? And what did he say? 385 00:24:51,660 --> 00:24:54,630 The same words, forgive them, God. They don't know what they're doing. 386 00:24:56,390 --> 00:25:00,230 Forgive them, God. Daniel changed his posture 387 00:25:00,230 --> 00:25:03,430 the same way Peter and Paul did in Acts. 388 00:25:05,270 --> 00:25:06,950 So they set a trap for him. 389 00:25:11,110 --> 00:25:14,950 The traps spy on Daniel. I don't know how they saw 390 00:25:14,950 --> 00:25:18,550 him. And they go and tell the king what he's doing. 391 00:25:18,870 --> 00:25:22,700 And they remind the King of the decree he signed. 392 00:25:22,780 --> 00:25:23,980 Bunch of snitches 393 00:25:27,100 --> 00:25:30,860 just Ratted him out for no reason. No, they had a 394 00:25:30,860 --> 00:25:34,620 reason. Then the king, when he 395 00:25:34,620 --> 00:25:38,460 heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. 396 00:25:38,540 --> 00:25:42,220 And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. 397 00:25:42,940 --> 00:25:46,580 Darius was displeased with himself. He 398 00:25:46,580 --> 00:25:50,420 realized he'd been tricked. He had that. Ah, what have 399 00:25:50,420 --> 00:25:53,820 I done? They got that. This was the. They got 400 00:25:53,820 --> 00:25:57,340 Daniel. They got to me to get to Daniel. I was a 401 00:25:57,340 --> 00:26:00,980 pawn. The king became the earthly king, 402 00:26:00,980 --> 00:26:04,660 became a pawn in the devil's game, right? 403 00:26:04,900 --> 00:26:08,580 Nobody's above you might think your power and your influence and your 404 00:26:08,580 --> 00:26:12,140 authority or something. No, no, no. You're still a pawn in this 405 00:26:12,140 --> 00:26:14,660 game. This is a cosmic war, 406 00:26:16,020 --> 00:26:19,460 okay? And even the king of Babylon was like, 407 00:26:19,620 --> 00:26:21,220 oh, you got me. 408 00:26:23,620 --> 00:26:26,580 For all you that was Daniel's age, shucks, right? 409 00:26:33,220 --> 00:26:35,060 I'll buy breakfast. I promise. 410 00:26:39,060 --> 00:26:42,720 Darius was displeased with himself, and he took the blame 411 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:45,520 for it. But just owning it wasn't enough. 412 00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:50,520 Now he has to determine, am I going to follow through with the 413 00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:53,960 decree that I set up according to the law, or am I going to follow 414 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:57,519 my heart and set Daniel free? And that's going to cause all kinds of problem. 415 00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:01,320 So there was no option except for him to follow through and 416 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:04,480 toss him into the DIN Alliance. And this is one thing that gets me. Like, 417 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:08,300 where do these people come up with this stuff? Like, 418 00:27:08,300 --> 00:27:11,060 do you think they just had a board meeting? Was like, guys, 419 00:27:11,940 --> 00:27:14,660 what are the ways we're going to come up with how to torture people? 420 00:27:15,940 --> 00:27:19,700 Right? And it was like, what about we poison them? No, that's not good enough. 421 00:27:20,820 --> 00:27:24,540 What if. What if we. What if we stab them with a bunch? 422 00:27:24,540 --> 00:27:27,220 Nope, I don't like that either. And one guy's in the back. I got an 423 00:27:27,220 --> 00:27:30,660 idea. Let's dig a big old hole and put wild 424 00:27:30,660 --> 00:27:34,480 animals in it, and we'll throw people in that and the 425 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:36,600 animals eat them. And I was like, that's a great idea. 426 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:41,760 I'm just trying to read this from a human. Like, how did we come up 427 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:45,440 with these ideas? And you 428 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:49,280 notice something here. Daniel didn't even try to defend himself in the scripture. If you 429 00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:52,840 read the scripture, Daniel did not even try to defend himself. 430 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:56,760 Stop being so defensive all the time, Saints. Stop 431 00:27:56,760 --> 00:28:00,560 trying to feel like you got to always defend yourself, especially from the 432 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:04,390 world. Let me tell you. Let me give you a little information. If you're in 433 00:28:04,390 --> 00:28:08,150 the wrong, you don't have a defense anyway. I was in 434 00:28:08,150 --> 00:28:11,830 the wrong over that pepperoni pizza, was I not? Don't you 435 00:28:11,830 --> 00:28:12,670 dare answer that. 436 00:28:16,030 --> 00:28:19,390 I'm Asking the one I offended. I was in the wrong, 437 00:28:20,030 --> 00:28:23,150 so I didn't have no defense. I could have come in there and say, well, 438 00:28:23,390 --> 00:28:26,790 I did yell at you, but you made me mad, or, you did this. No, 439 00:28:26,790 --> 00:28:30,550 no, no, Because I was in the wrong. So if you're in the wrong, you 440 00:28:30,550 --> 00:28:34,310 don't have a defense anyway. If you're in the right, right will defend 441 00:28:34,310 --> 00:28:37,710 itself. Jesus was silent before his 442 00:28:37,710 --> 00:28:41,550 accusers. He was like, I don't have to 443 00:28:41,550 --> 00:28:45,230 defend myself to you. You don't think I got the power to let you go? 444 00:28:45,230 --> 00:28:48,870 You have no power except, I mean, a boss move. You have 445 00:28:48,870 --> 00:28:51,990 no power that hasn't been given to you by my Father in heaven. 446 00:28:55,580 --> 00:28:55,980 In the. 447 00:29:00,140 --> 00:29:03,860 So this is what happens to Daniel. 448 00:29:03,860 --> 00:29:07,420 Daniel's Daniel is thrown into this pit. 449 00:29:07,740 --> 00:29:11,500 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den 450 00:29:11,500 --> 00:29:15,140 of lions. And the king declared to Daniel, may your God whom you 451 00:29:15,140 --> 00:29:18,900 serve continually deliver you. And a stone was brought and laid on 452 00:29:18,900 --> 00:29:21,860 the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and 453 00:29:21,860 --> 00:29:25,330 with the signet of his lords that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 454 00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:29,680 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting. No diversions 455 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:32,120 were brought to him. And sleep fled from him. 456 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,200 Throws him in the pit. Now, I don't know what you got in your mind, 457 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:42,000 but I imagine it, like, being, like, down in a well. And he's 458 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:45,560 thrown Daniel in there, and he's like, hey, good luck, man. 459 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:51,120 Hope God. What does it say? They cast him in the 460 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:54,720 dinner lines. And then he declared to Daniel, may your God whom you serve continually 461 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:58,510 deliver you, Punishes him, and gives him a little pep talk on the way 462 00:29:58,510 --> 00:30:02,150 down. You got it, bud. You 463 00:30:02,150 --> 00:30:05,910 got this. I love that phrase, 464 00:30:05,910 --> 00:30:08,870 though. Whom you serve continually. 465 00:30:10,310 --> 00:30:13,510 The same God who he watched over here 466 00:30:14,230 --> 00:30:17,390 rescue the three Hebrew boys, Hananiah, 467 00:30:17,390 --> 00:30:20,710 Azariah, and Mishael. And I will campaign for them. 468 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:24,080 Because if we're not calling Daniel Belshazzar, 469 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:28,480 Dadgummit, Shadrach, Meshach, and 470 00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:30,960 Bendigo will forever be known by their Hebrew names. 471 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:34,240 He'd seen that fourth man in the fire. 472 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:39,400 He knew he served God then. He's serving God now. 473 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:43,040 And no matter what had happened, he was going to continue 474 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:47,040 to serve the Lord. Daniel was 475 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:51,030 settled in his spirit. And this is what caused him 476 00:30:51,030 --> 00:30:54,870 to be settled in his spirit. It's what makes Ronnie and Fred and even 477 00:30:54,870 --> 00:30:58,710 you, settled. Daniel had seen so 478 00:30:58,710 --> 00:31:02,270 much. He'd saw that fourth man in the fire. He had 479 00:31:02,270 --> 00:31:06,110 seen Nebuchadnezzar sentenced to wander like a beast 480 00:31:06,110 --> 00:31:09,710 by decree of the holy watchers, for claiming to be God, 481 00:31:10,430 --> 00:31:14,110 he interpreted dreams and visions, and among it all, 482 00:31:14,110 --> 00:31:17,870 he served the Lord continually in captivity. 483 00:31:19,550 --> 00:31:23,310 So all night long, the king is a wreck. What 484 00:31:23,310 --> 00:31:27,070 does it say? He spent the night fasting. 485 00:31:27,870 --> 00:31:31,230 They didn't bring him anything to cause him comfort. And he couldn't sleep. 486 00:31:31,630 --> 00:31:35,310 Sleep fled from him. Okay, he's a wreck 487 00:31:35,790 --> 00:31:39,430 because he knows what's going to happen to Daniel. You notice he sealed it with 488 00:31:39,430 --> 00:31:42,790 his signet ring. Do you know why that's important? Because the 489 00:31:42,790 --> 00:31:46,500 signet beared the image of the king, and it held the 490 00:31:46,500 --> 00:31:50,340 backing of the king's armies. So that was an official decree. 491 00:31:50,340 --> 00:31:54,020 And he probably put that there for two reasons. One being, if 492 00:31:54,020 --> 00:31:57,860 anybody saw Daniel still hanging out in the den, they might have 493 00:31:57,860 --> 00:32:01,620 tried to take matters in their own hands. And for two, 494 00:32:01,940 --> 00:32:05,540 so that nobody would come and undo what he had already done. 495 00:32:05,540 --> 00:32:08,740 It's official. It's done. It bore the image, 496 00:32:09,660 --> 00:32:13,220 the king. And as image bearers, you bear the image 497 00:32:13,220 --> 00:32:16,860 of God, and the armies of heaven are your backing. 498 00:32:20,060 --> 00:32:23,380 King is a wreck. He goes back in at 499 00:32:23,380 --> 00:32:26,900 daybreak, and you know what he's expecting to see? Just a 500 00:32:26,900 --> 00:32:30,700 mess down there. Just a mess. 501 00:32:32,140 --> 00:32:35,900 And so instead of that, he finds Daniel safe 502 00:32:35,900 --> 00:32:39,180 and secure. Can you imagine? They roll the 503 00:32:39,340 --> 00:32:43,140 stone away. They roll the stone away. Listen. They 504 00:32:43,140 --> 00:32:46,700 roll the stone away expecting one 505 00:32:46,700 --> 00:32:48,620 thing, and instead, 506 00:32:50,620 --> 00:32:54,340 they roll the stone away expecting a dead man, and 507 00:32:54,340 --> 00:32:56,620 instead, he's alive and well. 508 00:32:58,220 --> 00:33:00,220 God, you can't make this up. 509 00:33:02,300 --> 00:33:05,900 This was written thousands of years prior. 510 00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:09,400 I couldn't get five of y' all to write a story right now and be 511 00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:13,120 on the same page. Think about it. 512 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:17,920 They roll the stone away. It's like, oh, Daniel. Daniel. Daniel's like 513 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:21,960 King Darius. Y' all remember when Forrest is 514 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:25,640 waving on the side of the boat? That's what I imagine 515 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:29,400 in my head. Lieutenant Dan, Right? He's waving at 516 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:32,960 him. He's like, I'm good. And Darius is like, look, remember, it's a. Well, 517 00:33:33,290 --> 00:33:36,970 what happened? Right? And they have this little interchange, like, get up. 518 00:33:36,970 --> 00:33:40,690 Let's go to breakfast. Cause neither of them have eaten all night. They didn't sit 519 00:33:40,690 --> 00:33:44,370 him down there with a lunchbox. Okay, now that's 520 00:33:44,370 --> 00:33:48,090 speculation. Don't say that they went to breakfast, please. Cause 521 00:33:48,090 --> 00:33:51,050 I'll be at breakfast tomorrow. I already know it's gig is up. I'm just gonna 522 00:33:51,050 --> 00:33:51,930 lean in. Okay, 523 00:33:55,370 --> 00:33:59,210 so he's yelling down the hole. They 524 00:33:59,370 --> 00:34:03,180 have this interchange. He says, bring him up. But then 525 00:34:03,180 --> 00:34:06,980 something horrible happens. And we read these letters, like, 526 00:34:06,980 --> 00:34:09,860 oh, this. Oh, and Then. And then this. And you're like, oh, it's not that 527 00:34:09,860 --> 00:34:12,940 bad. He took all 120 satraps 528 00:34:13,500 --> 00:34:16,220 and their wives and their children 529 00:34:17,100 --> 00:34:20,860 and threw them in the hole. And the scripture 530 00:34:20,860 --> 00:34:24,700 says that the lions devoured them before they hit 531 00:34:24,700 --> 00:34:27,700 the bottom. It's a lot of people, y'. All. 532 00:34:28,970 --> 00:34:32,090 That is a lot of human beings. 533 00:34:32,810 --> 00:34:36,490 That is a lot of human people 534 00:34:36,810 --> 00:34:40,530 that God loves that were affected by the 535 00:34:40,530 --> 00:34:42,970 decisions of their fathers. 536 00:34:44,810 --> 00:34:48,650 And we sit in here with some level of spiritual 537 00:34:48,650 --> 00:34:52,010 audacity and think that because God's 538 00:34:52,010 --> 00:34:55,610 merciful hand has not destroyed us, that we are 539 00:34:55,690 --> 00:34:58,780 immune to the scripture that says sin leads to death. 540 00:34:59,740 --> 00:35:03,100 Because you didn't physically die. Because I didn't physically 541 00:35:03,100 --> 00:35:06,460 die, that that scripture is not 542 00:35:06,460 --> 00:35:10,060 fulfilled. God is not mocked. He is very kind and 543 00:35:10,140 --> 00:35:13,940 merciful. Now, I know that it wasn't 544 00:35:13,940 --> 00:35:17,780 those children's fault, and I know that God wasn't the one that sentenced them to 545 00:35:17,780 --> 00:35:21,420 that. So we can't put that on his back. But what I'm 546 00:35:21,420 --> 00:35:25,090 saying is there are real world consequences to your actions. You 547 00:35:25,090 --> 00:35:28,930 better think before you just get all outside of your mind. It's one 548 00:35:28,930 --> 00:35:32,570 thing to yell at my kids over pepperoni pizza. It's another thing to lead them 549 00:35:32,570 --> 00:35:33,570 out into traffic. 550 00:35:39,730 --> 00:35:42,850 This story has so many parallels in the Bible. 551 00:35:43,890 --> 00:35:47,090 So many parallels. I just gave you one right there. They rolled a stone away 552 00:35:47,090 --> 00:35:49,250 expecting a dead man and said, he's living. 553 00:35:51,340 --> 00:35:53,900 I was reminded this past week, these last couple of weeks, 554 00:35:55,500 --> 00:35:58,220 as I've been preparing for this lesson, 555 00:35:59,100 --> 00:36:02,940 as I've been sitting under Barbie's teaching in the 556 00:36:02,940 --> 00:36:06,700 midweek gatherings. Midweek gatherings are fantastic, y'. All. This 557 00:36:06,700 --> 00:36:10,420 Sunday morning. I love this. This is a wide net. There's some of you guys. 558 00:36:10,420 --> 00:36:14,180 This might be your first time at church. And, like, this is amazing. Or I'll 559 00:36:14,180 --> 00:36:18,030 never go back to church, depending on what God has done here. And 560 00:36:18,030 --> 00:36:21,750 then there are some of you that have been in here for years, decades even, 561 00:36:21,990 --> 00:36:25,590 and it's hard to dig and go a little deeper. And you're going to get 562 00:36:25,590 --> 00:36:29,390 some truth. You're going to get some nuggets. Midweek is an intentional decision. If you 563 00:36:29,390 --> 00:36:33,110 got the capacity, hey, I want to dig a little bit deeper if you 564 00:36:33,110 --> 00:36:36,870 have the capacity. Some of you guys don't. Your sports families or things like that. 565 00:36:36,870 --> 00:36:40,590 But if you can come be here and sit under Barbie's teaching, you'll 566 00:36:40,590 --> 00:36:43,960 be blessed by it. She starts talking about 567 00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:47,720 Joseph, she starts talking about Joseph, and I was 568 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:51,640 instantly drawn. I was like, where have I heard this 569 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:55,360 before? Where have I heard this? And I'm 570 00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:58,840 like, oh, it's right here. Joseph's brothers 571 00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:02,920 resented him because he was favored by his father. 572 00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:08,720 Daniel was resented by the satraps because he 573 00:37:08,720 --> 00:37:12,370 was favored by the king. The plan 574 00:37:13,010 --> 00:37:16,850 for Joseph was to strip him of his coat and 575 00:37:16,850 --> 00:37:20,570 throw him into a pit. And they were going to tell his father he was 576 00:37:20,570 --> 00:37:23,010 eaten by wild animals. What? 577 00:37:24,370 --> 00:37:27,890 Daniel was stripped of his position and title and 578 00:37:27,890 --> 00:37:31,650 cast into the den of lions. The pit of lions. 579 00:37:31,650 --> 00:37:35,450 Why is this the playbook? Let's falsely 580 00:37:35,450 --> 00:37:39,210 accuse them, strip them down and cast 581 00:37:39,210 --> 00:37:43,020 them to the lions. Because it's always 582 00:37:43,100 --> 00:37:46,700 the playbook. It's been happening since the 583 00:37:46,700 --> 00:37:50,540 garden. Satan resents us because of the favor of 584 00:37:50,540 --> 00:37:54,380 our Father. Why do they get to bear the image? Why do 585 00:37:54,380 --> 00:37:57,980 they have dominion on this planet? The thief comes to steal, 586 00:37:58,220 --> 00:38:02,060 kill and destroy. He stole Joseph's coat and 587 00:38:02,060 --> 00:38:05,860 Daniel's position and tried to steal your birthright. He tried 588 00:38:05,860 --> 00:38:09,660 to kill both of them using the pit. And God delivered them both 589 00:38:09,660 --> 00:38:13,440 from the pit. But the method for our delivery required the king 590 00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:14,520 to go into the pit. 591 00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:20,920 Jesus said, no sign will be given to you except the sign of 592 00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:24,720 Jonah. And they're like, what? And he said, okay, well, let me break 593 00:38:24,720 --> 00:38:28,159 it down. Just like Jonah had to be in the belly of the fish for 594 00:38:28,159 --> 00:38:30,880 three days. The Son of Man has to go into the belly of the earth 595 00:38:30,880 --> 00:38:33,960 for three days. He had to go into the pit. 596 00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:38,320 He had to go into the pit so that you can come out of 597 00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:41,820 it. I love what I 598 00:38:41,820 --> 00:38:45,580 skipped over this, but I love Daniel's response 599 00:38:45,580 --> 00:38:49,260 when the king's like, are you okay? This 600 00:38:49,260 --> 00:38:51,900 is what Daniel says. I'm good. 601 00:38:53,420 --> 00:38:56,940 My God sent his angel and shut the 602 00:38:56,940 --> 00:39:00,500 lions mouths. And they have not harmed me because I was found 603 00:39:00,500 --> 00:39:04,220 blameless before him and also before you, O King. I have done 604 00:39:04,220 --> 00:39:07,210 no harm. Why did he say it like that? 605 00:39:08,890 --> 00:39:12,610 His angel. His angel. That's not. He didn't say an angel. 606 00:39:12,610 --> 00:39:16,210 He said his angel. And I probably looked up 17 different 607 00:39:16,210 --> 00:39:19,370 Bible translations. I was like, surely that's not what they mean. 608 00:39:20,010 --> 00:39:23,490 Every one of them, Every one of them say, my 609 00:39:23,490 --> 00:39:27,250 God sent his angel. That kind 610 00:39:27,250 --> 00:39:30,330 of messed me up. I did a teaching earlier this year 611 00:39:30,890 --> 00:39:33,770 in a wild card series on the angel of the Lord. 612 00:39:34,650 --> 00:39:38,090 Y' all can link that here, here, little 613 00:39:38,090 --> 00:39:41,850 YouTube. There's about three people that watch YouTube, right? And 614 00:39:41,850 --> 00:39:45,130 they're like, they do this in the corner, right? I looked. I didn't look at 615 00:39:45,130 --> 00:39:47,210 y'. All. I looked right at the camera. I hope they link it. 616 00:39:48,970 --> 00:39:52,330 It's a good teaching. It was a good Teaching. Right. Not because it was 617 00:39:52,570 --> 00:39:56,330 me, but because the Lord has a way of doing stuff on 618 00:39:56,330 --> 00:39:57,850 midweek gathering man. 619 00:40:00,580 --> 00:40:04,140 And in that teaching I shared how I believe that the scriptures 620 00:40:04,140 --> 00:40:07,860 point us to the conclusion that the angel of the Lord in the 621 00:40:07,860 --> 00:40:11,620 Old Testament is Jesus pre incarnate. Now I made a case 622 00:40:11,620 --> 00:40:14,740 for it. You don't have to agree with me. You can go watch the sermon 623 00:40:14,740 --> 00:40:15,060 here 624 00:40:18,340 --> 00:40:20,660 or what you can do is you can study the Scriptures. 625 00:40:22,500 --> 00:40:26,310 Just take my word for it, study the scriptures and maybe you 626 00:40:26,310 --> 00:40:29,950 come to a different conclusion and we can have dialogue. Because theology should be worked 627 00:40:29,950 --> 00:40:33,030 out in community, not on top of a mountain. You can't go to the top 628 00:40:33,030 --> 00:40:35,910 of a mountain, talk about God taught me how to be the kindest person on 629 00:40:35,910 --> 00:40:38,990 earth. And then you go down to the valley and you're unkind to everybody. You 630 00:40:38,990 --> 00:40:42,510 didn't learn kindness. You learned about kindness. So 631 00:40:42,510 --> 00:40:45,390 theology's worked out amongst the brethren. 632 00:40:49,310 --> 00:40:53,150 My assertion is that I am making a case for Christ. What 633 00:40:53,150 --> 00:40:56,850 if it is his angel? What if that fourth man in the 634 00:40:56,850 --> 00:41:00,130 fire is the same one that was in the pit with Daniel? 635 00:41:00,450 --> 00:41:03,730 It's not a stretch. It's in the same. It's in the same book. 636 00:41:05,170 --> 00:41:08,930 Does that not change the story to know if it was the angel of 637 00:41:08,930 --> 00:41:12,050 the Lord that's in there with Daniel communing 638 00:41:14,770 --> 00:41:18,570 Jesus descended into the pit of hell on 639 00:41:18,570 --> 00:41:22,370 our behalf to shut the mouth of the one who roams about like a roaring 640 00:41:22,370 --> 00:41:25,840 lion. Daniel was found blameless before him. 641 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:28,480 So God shut the mouth of the lions 642 00:41:30,640 --> 00:41:34,400 so that we can be found blameless before the King. I don't care. If 643 00:41:34,400 --> 00:41:37,680 you give me enough time, I will make every story about Jesus Christ. 644 00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:42,200 I thought we was talking about Daniel lions then. We are. But you gave me 645 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:46,040 enough time to get where I needed to get to because it's all 646 00:41:46,040 --> 00:41:49,280 about Jesus. Every story is about Jesus. 647 00:41:51,640 --> 00:41:53,960 This whole book is about Jesus. 648 00:41:55,320 --> 00:41:57,480 He was and is and is to come. 649 00:41:59,160 --> 00:42:01,480 He is the greatest story ever told. 650 00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:07,360 Everything points to him. Everything points 651 00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:11,040 to him. Worship team, you can come 652 00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:14,840 on out. They're on point this time. I kind of gave 653 00:42:14,840 --> 00:42:18,690 them a hard time. I got done early. I was flying in early, gathering and 654 00:42:18,690 --> 00:42:21,290 then I said, worship team, you come out and it was a ghost town. 655 00:42:22,890 --> 00:42:26,450 And it was like, what are you doing? What are you doing to us? You 656 00:42:26,450 --> 00:42:29,330 know when you don't want them to come out, they start playing that soft. Get 657 00:42:29,330 --> 00:42:33,130 off the stage. Grammy song. Give me that. 658 00:42:33,610 --> 00:42:37,250 Yes. And that's how you know the time's winding down. Right. You don't know what 659 00:42:37,250 --> 00:42:39,810 Time it is. Don't look. Don't look, because you're not supposed to have your cell 660 00:42:39,810 --> 00:42:42,730 phones because you're engaged. Highlights magazine, right? 661 00:42:44,580 --> 00:42:47,780 I said, hey, guys, come on out. Gone. And. 662 00:42:48,340 --> 00:42:51,860 But they're here. As we minister and close out this. 663 00:42:51,860 --> 00:42:55,300 This message this morning. The story concludes with a 664 00:42:55,540 --> 00:42:58,940 declaration from King Darius. And it's the one we read at the beginning. I just 665 00:42:58,940 --> 00:43:02,700 want to read it again because this is how the story ends. After everything we've 666 00:43:02,700 --> 00:43:06,500 just read and everything that happened, this is how the story ends. I meant 667 00:43:06,500 --> 00:43:10,310 to put that up. I got fired up. I'm sorry. 668 00:43:12,380 --> 00:43:15,980 This is what the king said. I make a decree that in all my 669 00:43:15,980 --> 00:43:19,820 royal dominion, people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. 670 00:43:19,820 --> 00:43:23,460 For he is the living God, enduring forever. His kingdom 671 00:43:23,460 --> 00:43:27,140 shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He 672 00:43:27,140 --> 00:43:30,980 delivers and rescues. He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth. 673 00:43:30,980 --> 00:43:33,980 He who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions. 674 00:43:39,910 --> 00:43:43,350 It opens up, and Darius is the king, and he's trying to do the right 675 00:43:43,350 --> 00:43:47,030 thing, and he points people to help him. And these people are snakes. 676 00:43:47,750 --> 00:43:51,350 And they try to trip up Daniel. They hate Daniel for no reason 677 00:43:51,430 --> 00:43:55,030 other than the fact that he served the Lord. But guess what? The king 678 00:43:55,030 --> 00:43:57,750 didn't know the Lord, but Daniel did. 679 00:43:58,950 --> 00:44:02,390 The king didn't honor God, but Daniel did. And so they 680 00:44:02,390 --> 00:44:06,130 devised a plan to trick him. They go to the king. He 681 00:44:06,290 --> 00:44:09,970 signs a document that for the next month, nobody can worship 682 00:44:09,970 --> 00:44:13,450 anyone but me. And then they go and trick him and get 683 00:44:13,450 --> 00:44:15,810 Daniel caught up. And he's distraught, what have I done? 684 00:44:17,970 --> 00:44:21,490 And he knows that when he throws Daniel into that lion's pit, 685 00:44:21,570 --> 00:44:25,290 that he's not coming out. And yet somehow he's 686 00:44:25,290 --> 00:44:29,060 having a conversation with him afterwards. And 687 00:44:29,060 --> 00:44:30,300 that led to this. 688 00:44:33,420 --> 00:44:37,140 This is the God that Daniel knew the entire time, but 689 00:44:37,140 --> 00:44:39,660 it took the pit for the king to learn it. 690 00:44:40,780 --> 00:44:44,500 Have you ever considered that this story is not about Daniel? That it 691 00:44:44,500 --> 00:44:47,900 was about getting to the heart of that king? For him to understand 692 00:44:49,340 --> 00:44:53,020 there is no God but the God of Daniel. He is the God. 693 00:44:53,180 --> 00:44:56,950 This is a king declaring his kingdom shall reign 694 00:44:56,950 --> 00:45:00,590 forever. His dominion is to all the earth. Kings did not 695 00:45:00,590 --> 00:45:04,390 do that. He bent the knee. But it took 696 00:45:04,390 --> 00:45:08,230 Daniel going into the pit for him to see it. Have you ever thought that 697 00:45:08,230 --> 00:45:12,030 the things that the pits that you're in aren't for you, but they're for someone 698 00:45:12,030 --> 00:45:14,350 else to see an excellent spirit in you, 699 00:45:15,710 --> 00:45:19,470 for them to see God's miraculous power in your life 700 00:45:19,790 --> 00:45:23,480 to be changed? And that decree went out to all 701 00:45:23,480 --> 00:45:27,080 the kingdom. It 702 00:45:27,080 --> 00:45:30,880 took that pit for him to know it. What Daniel already 703 00:45:30,880 --> 00:45:34,240 knew. What will it take for you to know? 704 00:45:35,200 --> 00:45:38,880 Why are we sitting around waiting on God's miraculous power 705 00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:42,560 when it's been evident the whole time? You waitin on a 706 00:45:42,560 --> 00:45:46,320 lion's den moment and he sustained you and you see 707 00:45:46,320 --> 00:45:49,840 miracles? God, I seen a miracle with my own 708 00:45:49,840 --> 00:45:53,560 eyes this last week. One of 709 00:45:53,560 --> 00:45:57,320 my best friends in the entire world had a. They label it 710 00:45:57,320 --> 00:45:59,120 a widowmaker heart attack. 711 00:46:00,960 --> 00:46:04,520 No reason why he had a heart attack. A 712 00:46:04,520 --> 00:46:08,000 hundred percent blockage. Do you understand what 100% means? 713 00:46:09,120 --> 00:46:12,400 Totally blocked. And the man's having a conversation with the doctor. 714 00:46:13,450 --> 00:46:17,170 A conversation. What happens is your heart, the 715 00:46:17,170 --> 00:46:21,010 arteries get blocked, your heart stops pumping and you lay down 716 00:46:21,010 --> 00:46:24,850 and die. His heart's blocked. 717 00:46:24,850 --> 00:46:28,410 He's having a conversation with the doctor 718 00:46:29,530 --> 00:46:32,970 at 5 o'. Clock. And by 9 o', clock, I'm sitting on the edge of 719 00:46:32,970 --> 00:46:35,290 his bed swinging my legs. I'm like, man, what a day. 720 00:46:41,540 --> 00:46:44,860 My friend Ashley and Katie, they go off script. An 721 00:46:44,860 --> 00:46:48,460 unsanctioned women's event. When I say 722 00:46:48,460 --> 00:46:52,300 unsanctioned, it's not like an official thing. And they set up a 723 00:46:52,300 --> 00:46:55,700 weekend for women. And over 27 women 724 00:46:55,860 --> 00:46:58,340 get set free. Five of them baptized. 725 00:47:01,460 --> 00:47:05,250 Years of trauma, years of addiction, years of abuse. 726 00:47:05,330 --> 00:47:09,090 Set free. In a moment. When they go under that water and when they 727 00:47:09,090 --> 00:47:12,450 come up, that stone was rolled away and there was a dead person they thought 728 00:47:12,450 --> 00:47:15,090 was going to be in there. And what came out was somebody was living. 729 00:47:16,690 --> 00:47:20,290 Talk about living in an excellent spirit. Somebody. The world 730 00:47:20,290 --> 00:47:23,970 is waiting on you to see you walk out what you already 731 00:47:24,050 --> 00:47:27,410 know. Stop waiting on a lion's den moment to show them. 732 00:47:30,940 --> 00:47:34,580 But it may take a lion's den moment. This lady at the front desk said, 733 00:47:34,580 --> 00:47:37,900 I've been here 20 years, I ain't never seen so many people come in here. 734 00:47:39,260 --> 00:47:41,500 And now we all know his name. Lonnie. 735 00:47:47,020 --> 00:47:50,860 What's it gonna take for you to get it? Are 736 00:47:50,860 --> 00:47:54,500 you settled in your spirit? Are you bowing to the 737 00:47:54,500 --> 00:47:56,460 king or are you bowing to the king? 738 00:47:59,190 --> 00:48:01,510 And are you going to pray for the Lord to get you out of these 739 00:48:01,510 --> 00:48:04,870 pits? Are you going to start inviting them into it with you? 740 00:48:05,910 --> 00:48:09,750 Cuz that pit Daniel had to go into wasn't just for Daniel. 741 00:48:09,830 --> 00:48:13,590 He needed that king to get to this point. If I could have all 742 00:48:13,590 --> 00:48:16,430 my people that are going to come pray down here this morning. If you got 743 00:48:16,430 --> 00:48:19,910 hurts and pains and, and hang ups and you got ailments and any of those 744 00:48:19,910 --> 00:48:23,760 things that celebrate recovery is for, or if you need physical 745 00:48:23,760 --> 00:48:26,960 healing in your body. Or if you. If you're saying to yourself, I don't know 746 00:48:26,960 --> 00:48:30,720 that I've ever seen God's power. I want to 747 00:48:30,720 --> 00:48:34,400 see God move. Then go talk to somebody. Go talk 748 00:48:34,400 --> 00:48:38,080 to Dave. Go talk to Ashley. Go talk to Barbie. Go talk to Doug. 749 00:48:38,320 --> 00:48:41,760 Come talk to me. We'll do it over 750 00:48:41,760 --> 00:48:42,880 pepperoni pizza. 751 00:48:46,480 --> 00:48:50,210 How? Guys, I just want to get to that place where people say, 752 00:48:50,210 --> 00:48:53,170 man, listen, the only way we're going to be able to trip him up is 753 00:48:53,170 --> 00:48:55,930 by trying to get him to compromise his faith because he's just living out what 754 00:48:55,930 --> 00:48:59,010 he says he believes. Man, I just want to get to that place, and I 755 00:48:59,010 --> 00:49:02,170 want you to go with me. Guys, it's a sharpening session. 756 00:49:02,650 --> 00:49:06,490 We can learn so much from this, but right now, it's 757 00:49:06,490 --> 00:49:08,610 time to do business with the Lord. If you got a hurt, if you got 758 00:49:08,610 --> 00:49:10,810 a need, if you got a pain, if you got something, if you want to 759 00:49:10,810 --> 00:49:14,500 go find a dark corner of the room, go do it. If you need to 760 00:49:14,500 --> 00:49:18,300 change your posture before the Lord, then now is 761 00:49:18,300 --> 00:49:21,900 the time. And I pray that God's power will be 762 00:49:21,900 --> 00:49:23,900 manifest to you. Let's worship 763 00:49:23,900 --> 00:49:27,880 gift.