Would you turn back to Daniel
chapter six? While you're turning there, Andy
Davis is going to preach for us tonight. And also, there's
some things that need to be addressed in the parking lot, there's some
crumbling going on and we need to get the parking lot sealed
and the cost is going to be somewhere between twelve and thirteen thousand
dollars to get all that fixed. So if you can designate something
to help out with that. Give us God enables you. Daniel
chapter 6, I've entitled this message, Is Your God Able To
Deliver You? Is Your God Able To Deliver You? Now, this is a very familiar
story, the story of Daniel. in the lion's den. And it's told
to children in Bible stories and so on, but how clearly the
gospel is in this passage of Scripture. And I pray that God
will bless it to our hearts. Now, Daniel is subject to his
third king in the Babylonian captivity. The first was Nebuchadnezzar. Then there was Belshazzar. Then
there was Darius. And Cyrus, after that, what this
lets us know is that no human kingdom is stable. We know that,
don't we? No human kingdom is stable. And Daniel was placed in a very
high position. Look in verse 1 of chapter 6. It pleased Darius to set over
the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes which should be over
the whole kingdom. And over these three presidents, of whom Daniel
was first, that the princes might give accounts unto them, and
the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred
above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was
in him, and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. Then the presidents and princes
sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom. They were jealous of him. They
wanted his position. They wanted his power. They wanted
his authority. They wanted to take his place.
And they were resentful of the place that he had. It sounds
like what goes on today, doesn't it? Same thing. Political unrest. Turmoil. Everybody trying to
protect their turf. Everybody trying to get something.
That's what was going on just like today. Then the presidents
and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the
kingdom, but they could find none occasion nor fault for as
much as he was faithful. Neither was there any error or
fault in him. Now, what a testimony regarding
this man. And listen to me. This ought
to be said of every one of us. Now you say that's just too much.
No, it's not. No, it's not. My life and your life ought to
be such that when the world looks at us, they can find no fault. Would to God that he would make
that so. that our lives are such that
the world can find no fault. Verse 5, Then said these men,
We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we
find it against him concerning the law of his God. Now these people had seen something
in Daniel, and here's what they did see. They saw a disdain in
Daniel for the gods of the Medes and the Persians. He had no respect
for their gods. He saw them as powerless idols.
And they had seen his devotion to the God of Israel and his
law, his word. They'd seen him kneel in prayer
toward Jerusalem three times a day with the windows open.
He would open the windows, not in ostentation, But he would
open his windows toward Jerusalem. And remember, God promised, when
you're in the land of captivity, pray toward Jerusalem. The place
where my favor is. The place where the sacrifice
is. It's representing looking to Christ. Pray looking to Christ. And I'll hear your prayer, even
in that land of captivity. He would pray three times a day
with his face toward Jerusalem. And they saw that, and they came
up with an idea. These men who were so jealous
of Daniel. Look in verse 6. Then these presidents and princes
assembled together to the king, and said thus unto the king,
King Darius live forever. All the presidents of the kingdom,
the governors and the princes, the counselors, the captains
have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a
firm decree that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or
man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, He shall be cast
into a den of lions. This is the way we're going to
get Daniel. Now King established the decree
and signed the writing that it be not changed according to the
law of the needs and purposes which altereth not. Now their
law was such that it knew no amendments. It couldn't be altered. Once the law was made, it was
there forever. It was eternal. It could not
be altered. Now, this is a very important
point. This is what God's law is, isn't it? God's law cannot
and will not be altered in any way. Now, you signed this decree,
and all along they wanted to trash Daniel, didn't they? They
thought, we'll get Daniel in trouble by doing this. Verse
9, poor Darius, he's so vain. I guess he liked it. Wherefore,
the king Darius signed the writing of the decree. This sounds good.
The only one anybody could ask anything for is from me. Verse 10, now when Daniel knew
that the writing was signed and he knew that that was law for
good, there was no altering of that law, that's the way it had
to be. He knew that. He knew that. He went into his house, and his
windows being opened in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled
upon his knees three times a day, just like before, and prayed
and gave thanks before his God as he did before time. Now, Daniel knew what this was
going to cost him. And just exactly as he'd done
before, not in ostentation, Not for a show, but he could not
compromise. To fail to do exactly what he
did before would be to compromise. And he could not compromise. Now, he could have said, I'll
pray with the windows closed. I mean, where in the Bible does
it say you have to pray with the windows open? He could have
said that. Or he could have said, you know, I can go 30 days without
praying. I mean, if I'm saved, I'm saved. Would it mean I'm
lost if I go 30 days without praying? He could have thought,
you know, I'm in such a position of influence. I want to infiltrate
the principles of the scripture in this culture and try to change
the culture. And if I'm thrown into a den of lions, I can't
do that anymore. I mean, I'm losing my position
of influence by doing that. I'd be better off just going
ahead and closing the windows so I can keep doing what it is
I want to do. Beloved, it's not our business
to worry about what we can do or what consequences or results
may come by obedience to God. Our only business is to obey
God. Now, I was reading a sermon by
Charles Spurgeon from this passage of scripture, and he said that
Daniel was a bigot. And would to God that we could
have more bigots in our day. He told a story about where that
word came from. Webster says a bigot is one who
is unreasonably attached to a particular creed, church, or party and is
intolerant of the views of others. And this was Daniel's attitude.
He was totally devoted to his God and was intolerant of the
religion of the Medes and the Persians. And then Spurgeon told
the story where the word bigot comes from. I think you'll find
this interesting. It was very moving to me. There were several
men being knighted by the queen. And in order to be knighted,
They had to kneel down and kiss a cross. Now, a cross is an idol. That's all it is. It's an idol. And all these men began to kneel
down and kiss that cross. And one man refused. He said,
I won't do it. They said, you must. He said,
by God, and by that he meant by God's help, I will not do
it. And he was called a bigot. By God, I won't do it. That's
where the name came from. And Spurgeon said, would to God
that we had more bigots in our day. And would to God, I want
to be one of those, don't you? I want to be one of those. Now,
Daniel refused to compromise. I love to picture Daniel in my
mind, kneeling before his window toward Jerusalem, looking to
Christ, giving thanks, knowing what it would cost him. He had
already resigned himself. I'm going to be thrown in a den
of lions for doing this, and they're going to eat me alive,
but I've got to do it. Don't you admire Daniel? Verse 11, then these men assembled
and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his
God. You see, this is what they were setting up all along. We've
got him now. I mean, the law can't be altered.
The kings made the decree. He's going to be killed. We're
going to get rid of Daniel. They were very happy about this.
Verse 12, then they came here. and spake before the king concerning
the king's decree, hast thou not signed a decree that every
man that shall ask a petition of any god or man within thirty
days, save a thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?
The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the
law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. It can't
be changed. There are no amendments. If you
pray to any god for any reason, except for me, is what he's saying.
You're going to be thrown into a lion's den. And that can't
be changed. That can't be amended. There's
no way of getting out of it. Verse 13. Then answered they,
and said before the king, Daniel, that Daniel, that man we despise
so much, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, that
man we're so jealous of. Of course, they're not saying
that. This is what they're thinking. Look what they say about him. He doesn't regard thee, O king,
nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition
three times a day. He keeps on praying to his God. Then the king, when he heard
these words, was sore displeased with himself. You see, he loved
Daniel. He admired Daniel. He made Daniel his right-hand
man. And he was very upset over what
had taken place. He thought, why did I do something
like that? Why did I do something so foolish? And he set in his
heart on Daniel to deliver him, and he labored to the going down
of the sun to deliver him. He was looking for a loophole
in them all. That's what he was doing. Is
there any way we can get past this? And there are no loopholes
in God's law. God's law must be honored. The soul that sinneth shall surely
die. God said, I will by no means
clear the guilty. There are no loopholes in God's
holy law. I think it's interesting how
people in human laws, you can always find loopholes to give
people advantages because you have corrupt men making them,
but not in God's law. There's no altering. There's
no loopholes. Darius esteemed Daniel, and he
wanted to save him, and he regretted signing that silly petition.
And he could probably say, how could you be so vain to do something
like that? He did everything he could to deliver Daniel, but
he couldn't. Verse 15, Then these men assembled
unto the king, and said unto the king, O king, that the law
of the Medes and Persians is that no decree nor statute which
the king establisheth may be changed. There are no amendments,
no changing, no altering. And so the king was left no choice. Then the king commanded, and
they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. They lower Daniel into a den
of hungry lions. Humanly speaking, what can he
do about this? Now you've seen lions on the
animal planet, I mean a big, hungry, and there's a den of
them. And they lower him down into
that den with those hungry lions. Now you know what's going to
happen to somebody like that. It's inescapable. But look what
Darius says, Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and
cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake, and said
unto Daniel, I am sure this is right before they lowered him,
or cast him down into that den, Thy God, whom thou servest continually,
he will deliver thee. And a stone was brought, and
laid upon the mouth of the den, And the king sealed it with his
own signet, and with the signet of his lord, that the purpose
might not be changed concerning Daniel. That's the way the law
works. Then the king went to his palace. And past that night
fasting, neither were instruments of music brought before him,
and a sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early
in the morning and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when
he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice. Maybe
he didn't really believe what he said when he said to Daniel,
Thy God is able to deliver thee. Maybe he didn't really believe
that. So he cries out with this lamentable voice, oh, just so
upset over the night that he'd spent worrying about Daniel.
He cried with a lamentable voice and said to Daniel, Oh, Daniel,
servant of the living God is thy God, whom thou servest continually,
able to deliver thee from the lions. Now Daniel had been placed
in a position which was humanly impossible. A man lowered into
a den of hungry lions. Now under no scenario could a
man survive this but one, God. Is thy God able to deliver thee
from the lions? Now let me pause and ask a few
questions. You've got a God. Everybody in here has some kind
of God. Is your God able to deliver you
from the lions? You know, I think of what Isaiah
said when he warned us about praying to a God that cannot
save. He said they have no knowledge that praying to a God who cannot
save. That's the God of the 21st century.
He's a God who cannot save. He can't save you unless you
let him. He wants to save you, but he can't save you unless you
do something to make what he did work for you. Now that's
praying unto a God that cannot save. A God that cannot save
won't do you any good. It's a false God. A false God. Now, is your God able to deliver
you? Now, God's law, the Ten Commandments,
cannot be altered. Thou shalt have no other gods
before me. That can't be altered. Every commandment regarding God,
the commandment against idolatry, worshiping a false god, bowing
before an idol, taking his name in vain, having something less
than absolute fear when you use his name, keeping the Sabbath.
honoring your parents, honoring all authority, never committing
sexual sin, not even in your heart, never lying, never stealing,
never coveting. That law cannot be altered. If I don't stand perfect before
that law, God can't accept me. Now, is your God able to deliver
you from that law which cannot be altered if you have sin on
you. If you're not able to deliver
you from something like that, consider that question. God's
law is not going to be altered. God's law, I love God's law.
I love every commandment He gives. It's glorious. Speaking of the
glory of His character and the holiness of His character, how
I love God's holy law. I love the Ten Commandments.
I love them. They're a reflection of God.
Now, is your God able to deliver you from that law if you've been
a lawbreaker? If you've broken these commandments? My God is. Let me show you now. Turn with me to Romans chapter
3. Hold your finger there in Daniel 6. Now, we know that what thing
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become
guilty before God. I have broken His holy law and
my mouth is stopped. I can't say, well, it's my evil
nature's fault. You put me in this position because I was born.
No excuses. Every mouth is stopped. Guilty
as charged. Well, is there anything we can
do to get out of this mess? No. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by
the law is the knowledge of sin. If you ever understand what God's
law says, it says that all you do is sin. Period. Does that leave us with no hope?
No. Verse 21. But now the righteousness
of God, without the law, without my personal obedience, is manifested. Being witnessed by the law of
the prophets is what the scriptures always taught. Even the righteousness
of God, which is by the faith of Jesus Christ unto all and
upon all them that believe. For there is no difference for
all who have sinned and come short of the glory of God being
justified. Having been justified freely,
that means without a reason in me. God doesn't look for a reason
in me to do it. Having been justified freely
by His grace, through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus, whom
God has set forth to be a propitiation, to be an appeasement, a sin-atoning
victim. God foreordained him to be a
sin-atoning victim through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness. for the remission of sins that
are passed through the forbearance of God, to declare, I say at
this time, His righteousness. Oh, I love to think about this.
When God accepts me, when God forgives me, He only declares
His righteousness. Not merely His mercy and His
grace, but His righteousness. I've got it coming. Because my
sin was paid for, His righteousness is mine, and God declares His
righteousness. His law is not altered in any
way. Go on reading. To declare, I say, at this time
his righteousness, that he might be just, and the justifier of
him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It's
excluded by what law of works? Nay, but by the law of faith.
Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without
the deeds of the law. Is He the God of the Jews only?
Is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, seeing
it as one God which shall justify the circumcision by faith and
uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law
through faith? God forbid, yea, we establish the law. Now my God is able to deliver
me from that law that does not alter in any way. I'm brought
before God's holy, inflexible law, and it looks me over and
says, I can find no fault in it. Nothing to fear from God's
holy law. And the only way I honor God's
holy law is by looking to Christ only as the end of the law. Now, you dishonor the law if
you think you can keep it. You honor God's holy law when
you look to Christ as the end, the goal, the termination of
the law. Yes, my God is able to deliver
me from that law that cannot be altered, and I have such confidence
in Him. Here's another den of lions.
My evil nature. Talked about God's law that can't
be altered. Well, what about my evil nature? A nature that cannot believe. A nature that cannot repent. A nature that cannot come to
Christ because of the evilness of that nature. I'm born with
an evil nature. Now, what about that evil nature
that I can't do anything about? I can't make myself believe.
I can't make myself repent. I can't make myself love God.
I can't make myself not sin. What about that evil nature that
I have? And I've got it and you do too.
Can your God deliver you from that evil nature, that one that
is dead in trespasses and sins that renders us totally unable
and totally depraved? What does total depravity mean?
What does it mean? Does it mean that everybody's
out looking to murder somebody, axe murders and so on? Well,
believe it or not, if the Lord lifted his hand from you and
left you to yourself, you would be as bad as Satan. But what total depravity means
is is man in the totality of his being. His affections are
no good. His will is no good. His understanding is no good.
Depraved. Can your God deliver you from
something like that? Dead in trespasses and sins.
Well, Ephesians 2.1 says, And you hath he quickened. who were
dead in trespasses and sins. He gave you life. Yes, my God
is able to deliver me from that by giving me a new heart that
was not there before. A new nature that was not there
before. I now believe because my God has given me that faith.
He's granted me repentance. Yes, my God is able to deliver
me from an evil nature. It's called invincible grace. is another den of lions. Even
after I'm saved and God has given me this new nature that believes
the gospel, having honored the law for me and kept the law for
me and given me a perfect standing before that holy law, even after
all of that, I still have this evil nature. And I'm a time And I'm faced
with temptations that I can't stand before. How am I going to endure? Now unto Him that is able to
keep you from falling. There's my hope. Yes, my God
is able to keep me from falling, even though I have this sinful,
evil nature. Right now, my God is able to
keep me from falling and to present me faultless before His throne
with exceeding joy. Yeah, my God is able to deliver
me. Now, let's go to another scene. I'm buried. I die. You're going
to die. I'm going to die. This may be my last day. It may
be my last week. It may be the same for you. The day of our death has already
been appointed, but I'm going to die. They're going to lay
my body in the dust. Dust thou art, and to dust thou
shalt return. Now can your God deliver you
from that? Nothing you can do about it.
Can your God deliver you from that? Turn with me to 1 Corinthians
chapter 15 for a moment. 1 Corinthians 15. Now this I say, brethren, that
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Rather, neither
doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery,
something you wouldn't have known unless God was pleased to make
it known. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for
the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed for this corruptible must put on incorruption. This mortal must put on immortality. One of these days I'm going to
have a spiritual body. Somebody says, what's that? I don't know, but
I'm going to have it. We shall be changed. So when
this corruptible shall put on incorruption and this mortal
shall put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the
same that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death,
where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is what?
The law. That's all the law does is expose
us to sin. But thanks be unto God, which
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. One final
thing. After I'm raised, I'm going to
be made to stand before God, the Holy God. in judgment. Now, how am I going to fare?
Is your God able to deliver you at that time? Now, when I'm made to stand before
God in judgment, is your God able to deliver you at that time? If God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Listen to this. I love Paul's
language here. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who
is he that can condemn? It's Christ that died. Bring
it on. Even before judgment, when I
stand before God, who's going to lay anything to my charge?
Is your God able to deliver you? Back to our text in Daniel chapter
6. O Daniel, verse 20. Servant of the living God, is
thy God whom thou servest continually able to deliver thee from the
lions? Then said Daniel unto the king,
O king, live forever. Can you imagine how Darius felt
when he heard the voice of Daniel come from the lion's den? Now look what Daniel says to
him, verse 22. My God hath sent his angel. And I have no doubt that is the
Lord Jesus Christ. He is the angel of God. My God has sent his angel and
has shut the lion's mouths that they have not hurt me. For as
much as before him, before God, innocency was found in me. And also before the old king,
I have done no hurt. Now look in Daniel chapter three
for just or Daniel chapter nine for just a moment. This is the
same one who said before God innocence. He was found in me.
Now he says in verse three of Daniel chapter nine. I said my
face unto the Lord to seek by prayer and supplications with
fasting and sackcloth and ashes. And I prayed unto the Lord my
God and made my confession and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful
God, keeping covenant and mercy to them that love him and to
them that keep his commandments. We've sinned and have committed
iniquity and have done wickedly. and have rebelled even by departing
from thy precepts and from thy judgments. Neither have we hearkened
unto thy servants the prophets which spake in thy name to our
kings and our princes and our fathers and to all the people
of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongeth
unto thee, but unto us confusion effaces, as at this day to the
men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to all Israel
that are near and that are far off. through all the countries
where thou hast driven them, because of their trespasses,
that they trespass against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion
of face, to our kings, to our princes, to our fathers, because
we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belongs mercies
and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him, neither
have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God." Now you go on.
That's Daniel's testimony concerning himself. And yet he says, before
him, absolute moral purity. Innocence, perfect righteousness
was found in me. Al, do you know this is true of every
believer? When you're made to stand Perfect innocence is going to
be found in you. Perfect purity, nothing to condemn. Now, how is that? Well, you've
got to understand the gospel to know how that is. My sin became
his sin. He put it away. and his righteousness,
his perfect obedience is my obedience and God looks at me and he sees
innocency before him. That is my righteousness before
God, holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. Innocence
was found in me. You know, I'm thankful for life.
I'm thankful for life. I hope the Lord gives me more
years. I guess if it's his will that
we might see his glory in this generation, all that stuff. I
mean, yeah, but man, I look forward to dying. And being brought before
God in judgment and him looking me over. And seeing nothing but
purity and innocence and righteousness. Now that's what the gospel does.
No man can come up with something like this, could they? This is
what the gospel does. Daniel said, Innocency was found
in me. Now let's go back to Daniel chapter
6. Verse 23. Then was the king exceeding
glad for him. and commanded that they should
take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of
the den and no manner of hurt was found upon him because he
believed in his God. And the king commanded And they
brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into
the den of lions, them with their children and their wives, and
the lions had the mastery of them and break all their bones
in pieces wherever they came at the bottom of the den. This
is what happens to men without Christ. Then King Darius wrote
unto all people, nations and languages that dwell in all the
earth, peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree that in
every dominion of my kingdom, men tremble and fear before the
God of Daniel, for he is the living God, the only living God,
and steadfast forever. He is eternal and immutable and
his kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed, the only stable
kingdom, and his dominion, his sovereignty, his power shall
be even unto the end. He delivers and rescues and worketh
signs and wonders in heaven and earth who hath delivered Daniel
from the power of the lions." Now, when people use the story
of Daniel and the lions, then they always hold that we might
have the courage of Daniel. Well, you ought to have the courage
of Daniel. Look at Daniel's God. The glorious person in this is
not Daniel. It's Daniel's God. Daniel prospers. Because of him, verse 28, so
this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign
of Cyrus, the Persian, is your God. Oh, may the Lord impress
this on our hearts. Is your God able to deliver you? Let's pray.