Now let's turn again back to
Daniel chapter 6. I'm taking the title
for the message from verse 20. when the king came that next
morning to that den, that pit that Daniel had been cast into. He came to the den, he cried
with a lamentable voice, crying out unto Daniel. And the king
spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is
thy God, whom thou service continually, able to deliver thee from the
lions." And Daniel said, okay, live forever, my God hath delivered
me. So the title of the message is
this, is thy God able to deliver thee? Is your God able to deliver
you? May God give us grace. Now, everyone who is familiar
with the Bible has heard the story of Daniel. Daniel being
cast into the lion's den. But few know the gospel message
that is given here in Daniel chapter 6. Did you see the gospel
as we were reading here in Daniel 6? We know this, all scripture
is God-given. We studied that this morning.
All Scripture comes by inspiration of God. All Scripture is God-given,
God-inspired, and God-breathed. Holy men of old spake as they
were moved by God the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1, 21. And all Scripture
has but one message. I mean, this is a big book, 66
books. And all these books have but
one message. To Him give all the prophets
witness. That message of Christ and Him
crucified, that message is clearly given to us here in this story.
How God delivers sinners. He's given to teach us again
the gospel of a true and living God concerning the Lord Jesus
Christ. Wouldn't Daniel say this? As
he was cast into that lion's den, the stone put upon the mouth
of that pit, sealed where he could not get out, and yet he
got out. How did he get out? You know
what he would say? My salvation is of the Lord. That's what he would say. That's
what every sinner says that's saved by God. Salvation is of
the Lord. The old writers put it this way,
the whole of the work of salvation, whereby guilty sinners are justified
before God, raised from the dead, made new creatures in Christ,
is totally of the Lord Jesus Christ. From election to glorification,
salvation is of the Lord. You remember the story of Jonah? Jonah was cast out into the sea,
and God prepared a great fish, swallowed him up. And there he
was in the belly of that fish, wrapped up with seaweeds, and
being burnt up with the acid. And a lot of the commentators
think that he actually died. And three days later, that fish
vomited him up upon the shore. And you know what he said? Salvation
is of the Lord. Jonah knew that he could not
get out of that mess except the Lord delivered him. Has the Lord taught you that,
that your salvation is of the Lord? David learned that lesson. King David, he said in Psalm
37, the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord. Jeremiah the
weeping prophet was taught that lesson in lamentation 326. He
said it's good for me. It's good that a man should both
hope and Quietly wait for the salvation. That's of the Lord
This is a vital lesson that the Lord teaches every sinner who
is drawn unto Him in everlasting love. He teaches us that our
salvation, our deliverance, is of His doing. I love that Psalm
18 that says this, Psalm 118 verse 23. This is the Lord's
doing and it's marvelous in our eyes. Salvation is totally of
the Lord. This is Daniel's story here,
isn't it? He knew he was no match for a
pack of wild, hungry lions in this pit. He knew he was no match,
but he knew the lions were no match for the true and living
God. As a matter of fact, the Lord Jesus Christ is called the
Lion of the tribe of Judah. I mean the Lord Jesus Christ,
who is the Lion, shut the mouths of these lions. What are these
lions compared to Him who is God, our Savior? He knew the lions were no match
for the true and living God, for the Most High God, who ruleth
on high, who gives eternal life, to whom He will. Isn't that the
same lesson, you remember, that God taught Nebuchadnezzar? Look
back at Daniel chapter 4. Verse 34, At the end of days
I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up my eyes unto heaven, my understanding
returned to me, I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored
Him that liveth for ever and ever, whose dominion and for
lasting dominion. His kingdom is from generation
to generation, and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing.
He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven among the
inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand for saying
to him, Lord God Almighty, what doest thou? When God is pleased
to save a sinner, he teaches that sinner who he is. All those who have heard and
learned of the Father They come unto the Lord Jesus Christ. They're
drawn unto Him. Daniel, like Joseph in Egypt,
was a stranger in the land, but one who was favored of God, and
blessed of God, and made to prosper in all that he did. I mean, how
did he get the favor of Nebuchadnezzar and all those different kings?
He had the favor of Nebuchadnezzar. He had the favor of Belshazzar.
He had the favor of Darius. He had the favor of King Cyrus.
How did that happen? Well, he was just lucky. No,
my friend, It was the good and wise, sovereign providence of
God. God blessed him. You remember
what it says of Joseph in Egypt, who was sold into bondage, into
slavery, yet God made him a king. They fabricated a law, and it
was a bad law. They knew Daniel would not obey
the law, presented it to the king, he signed it into law,
and according to the law of the Medes and Persians, that law
could not be changed, it could not be altered, it had no way
around it, it had no loopholes in it, it had to be honored. That was the established law
in that day. Several times it's mentioned
here in this chapter 6 of Daniel that this law could not be changed
this law could not be altered I look down at verse 10 Daniel
knew verse 8 says, and I, O king, established the decree, signed
the rites, that it be not changed, that it be not changed, that it be
not changed, that it be not changed, that it be not changed, that it be not changed, that it be
not changed, that it be not changed, that it be not changed, that it be not changed, that it be not
changed, that it be not changed, that it be not changed, that it be not changed, that it be
not changed, that it be not changed, that it be not changed, that it be not changed, that it be
not changed, that it be not changed, that it be not changed, that
it be not changed, that it be not changed, that it be not changed, that it be not changed, that it be
not changed, that it be not changed, that it be not changed, that it Daniel knew the law was in force. I read him doing exactly what
the law of the Medes and Persians said that he was not supposed
to do. Daniel knew the law of the land
was in force. He knew that his king, Darius,
had signed it, but he also knew that the law of God was greater
than the law and rules of man. Is that so? Yes, it is. So Daniel
continued to worship the Most High God in spite of the consequences. I mean, he knew what was coming.
He knew those who violated the law, what would happen to them. In spite of the consequences
of being punished, he worshipped God. We can learn something from
this in our day. When the laws of men are in conflict
with the Word of God, When the laws of men are in conflict with
the Word of God, what should we do? What should we do? Obey God or men? Well, I'll give
you a good example of this. Turn to Acts chapter 5. Acts
chapter 4 and 5. When the early church, when the
apostles were arrested, beaten, and commanded not to teach or
preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ anymore, Acts chapter
4 verse 18, They called them and commanded them not to speak
at all nor teach in the name of Jesus, that when Peter and
John answered and said unto them, whether it be right in the sight
of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye, for
we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard."
What did they do? They went right on preaching
the gospel of Christ, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at Acts chapter 5. when
they were arrested and put in prison. Verse 28, they brought
before the council again saying, and they said, Didn't we straightly
command you that you should not teach in this name? And you have filled Jerusalem
with your doctrine and bring and intend to bring this man's
blood upon her head. Then Peter answered and said,
and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God
rather than men. So when we're commanded to do
things by the laws of men that are contrary to the word of God,
we're to follow the word of God and ignore the word of men. Now I realize we live We live
in an upside-down world. I mean, we just live in an upside-down
world. Woe unto them that call Isaiah
5, 20. Woe unto them that call evil
good and good evil. Isn't that the day we live in?
That put darkness for light and light for darkness. That put
bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. I mean, we live in an
upside-down world. It always has amazed me that
those who are For killing the innocent, we want to protect
the guilty. What do I mean by that? Have
you ever noticed that those who are always promoting abortion,
killing babies, are always those who are against the death penalty
for those who are guilty? You see, they've got things backwards. We should protect the innocent
and put to death those who have violated the law of God, thou
shalt not kill." And if you do, it's going to cost you your life.
But we flip this thing on its head. Woe unto them that call
evil good and good evil. And I could give you other examples,
but that will serve to do. Daniel was reported to the king
that indeed there was someone who violated the law of the Medes
and Persians, and that one was Daniel. Look at verse 13. These men came and reported Daniel
to the king, verse 13, then answered they and said before the king,
that, I like the way this is said, remember that Daniel, the
one that you put him over us, that Daniel, which is of the
children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O
king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition
three times a day. Then the king, verse 14, when
he heard these words, was sore displeased, and set his heart
on Daniel to deliver him. He labored till the going down
of the sun to deliver him. But he couldn't find a loophole
in his own law. Even though he was displeased
with himself, he couldn't change what he had decreed. The law
had to be honored. Had to be honored. And Daniel
was reported violating the law. The king here was caught in a
dilemma, wasn't he? Brother Mahan, when he preached
from this text, called the message Darius' Dilemma. Darius, the
king, had a dilemma. He loved Daniel. He promoted
Daniel, and yet his law said that Daniel must die. What's
he going to do? I mean, he was in a mess. The
king was caught in a dilemma. He loved Daniel, but he knew
he could not change his law and continue to be king. Those who
violated his law must be punished. Darius had no choice but to put
Daniel into the den of lions, and that's exactly what he did.
Look at verse 16. Then the king commanded, they
brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. And the king
spake and said unto Daniel, O may God deliver thee, thy God whom
thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. And a stone
was brought, laid it upon the mouse, the king sealed it, that
the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel." There he
is, stuck in that pit. Oh, may God deliver you, Daniel. Darius went back to the palace,
verse 18. Passed the night fasting. His sleep went from him. Didn't
want to listen to music. He was worried about Daniel. The next morning, verse 19, the
king arose very early in the morning and went in haste into
the den of lions. And when he came to the den,
he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel. And the king spake,
said, Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God
whom thou servest continually able to deliver thee from lions
and Daniel He's waiting for word, wasn't he? I can just imagine
him there at the mouth of that pit. Daniel, are you down there,
Daniel? Look what he said. Daniel unto
the king said, oh king, live forever. He blessed the king.
This is the one who put him in the pit, and yet he blesses the
king. My God has sent his angel. His lion, the lion of the tribe
of Judah, hath shut the mouths, the lion's mouth, that they have
not hurt me, forasmuch as before him, before God, innocency was
found in me, and I also before thee. The old king hath done
no hurt. The king was exceeding glad for
him, commanded that it 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 God. I love this confession
of Daniel. Verse 21, verse 22 through 22.
Daniel, the angel of the Lord. Who is this angel of the Lord
here? This angel of the Lord is none other than the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's not a created angel. He's
the eternal messenger, mediator, and surety of the covenant. The
same one who was with the three Hebrew children in the fiery
furnace. You remember, we cast in three,
and yet there's a fourth man in there who looked like the
Son of Man. And it is the Lord Jesus Christ. Daniel, it says here, Daniel
was found innocent before God. Look what it says there in verse
22. That they have not hurt me for as much as before him, before
God, not guilty. Innocency was found in me also
before thee, O king. Daniel was found innocent before
God. How could that be? Daniel was
a sinner. Daniel had sinned against God.
We're going to see that in a minute. Daniel was found innocent before
God because Daniel was found in Christ, who is the Lord, our
righteousness. That's where I want to be found.
Where do you want to be found when the Lord comes back? I hear
people say, well, I want to be found in church. I want to be
found on my knees praying. I want to be found here. I want
to be found there. I want to be found in Him, in
Christ, when the Lord comes back. The king, Oderias, was glad. Daniel was glad. And Daniel was
made to rejoice. And I love this statement here,
the last part of verse 23. He believed God. He believed God. It says of Abraham,
Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. What a glorious, precious gift
is God saving faith. He believed God. Faith is called
the precious gift of God. Saving faith, Always honors God
by trusting Him, by coming to Him, by looking unto Him. He says, look unto Me and be
ye saved. All the ends of the earth. I
am God, beside Me there is no other. Looking unto Jesus who
is the author and finisher of our faith. Now Daniel is delivered. Daniel is redeemed from the pit. And you know what happened to
those other men? Verse 24. Those who accused Daniel, they
were cast themselves, their wives and their children, And they
weren't saved. The lions had their way. They devoured them. Now how does all this story about
Daniel being delivered from the lion den preach the gospel unto
us? Well, here's the first thing.
The Lord our God, the true and living God, has a holy and just
law that cannot be changed, that cannot be altered or diminished.
Because the law of God is like God Himself, He does not change. He said, I am the Lord, I do
not change. The law of God is holy and just
and cannot be changed. The law of Darius, made was a
foolish law, but the law of God is just and holy, and it does
not change. We read in Romans 7 verse 12,
Wherefore the law is holy, the commandment holy, just, and good. The holy law of God is a reflection
of His own holy character. Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty
is the Lord of hosts. The law of God is spiritual.
The law of God demands perfect obedience in word, deed, desire,
thought, motive, will, attitude, and conduct. The law of God demands
perfection. The holy law of God declares
everyone who violates the law of God must pay the ultimate
price. That is, the law of God says
that guilty must die. The law of God curses everyone
that continues not in all things which are written in the book
of the law to do them. The law of God, the holy law
of God, does not demand the best we can do. It demands the best
God can do. The standard is His. And my friend,
let's fess up. We have all sinned and come short
of the holy standard of God's law. There is God's law. It cannot
be changed. It cannot be altered. It has
to be satisfied, just like the law of Darius had to be satisfied. The second point is this. We've
broken the law of God. We're guilty of violating every
precept of the law. Every one of them. Turn to Romans
chapter 3. We have not uttered one commandment
of the law one time. We're guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Romans 3 verse 20, verse 19. Now we know that what things
whoever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law
that every mouth may be stopped, And all the world become guilty,
guilty before God. What does the law say? Guilty.
What does the law say? Stop your mouth. 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. It's not by
the law is the removal of sin. It's the knowledge of sin. But
now the righteousness of God without the law is manifest,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Thank God for this.
Even the righteousness which is of God, the righteousness
of God which is by the faith of, not your faith, faith of
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe, there
is no difference for all have sinned. Does that include you? All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. That includes me. There is none
righteous. No, not one. There is none that
understand it. There is none that seek it after
God. They're all gone out of the way. They're all together
become impossible. There is none that do us good.
No, not one. We have not kept one law one
time. And sin is, you know what it
says in scripture? Sin is a transgression of the
law. It says in 1 John 3 verse 4,
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is the
transgression of the law. To offend in one point is to
be guilty of every point. We're violators. You are, I am,
every son of Adam has violated God's holy law. For the law demands
thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with
all thy soul, with all thy might. We have failed to do so. We are
guilty before God. By nature, we love ourselves.
By nature, we love darkness, not light. By nature, we love
ourselves. And by nature, we hate God. In
our sinful and totally depraved flesh, we do not, cannot, and
will not keep the law of God. We have no ability to do so. The law of God was given to reveal
how sinful we are before God is given to expose our problem,
guilt. The wages of sin is death. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. Turn to Daniel chapter 9. You
remember when we were over here in chapter 9? Chapter 9 verse
8. Listen to this confession. Daniel's
confessing. He says, now in me, in Christ,
I'm justified. But look what he says here in
Daniel 9. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings,
to our princes, to our fathers, because we've sinned against
God. To the Lord our God belongeth
mercies, forgiveness, that we've rebelled against him. Neither
have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God to walk in his laws,
which he set before us by his servant the prophets. Yea, all
Israel have transgressed thy law, even departing that they
might not obey thy voice. Therefore, the curse is poured
upon us. The oath that is written in the
Law of Moses, that servant, because we have sinned against God. You see, that's our confession.
We're sinners, but our hope is Christ honored the Law of God
for us. Now here's the third thing. Darius
could not find a way to deliver Daniel from judgment and from
his own law, so he had to satisfy his own law, so he put Daniel
in the lion's den. And the Lord of glory came and
delivered him, as it says in verse 22, My God hath sent his
angel, hath shut the lion's mouth, and they have not hurt me. The angel here is none other
than the messenger of the covenant, the Lord Jesus Christ. The same
one who delivered the three Hebrew children. What was Daniel's only
hope of deliverance? He knew he couldn't fight his
way out. He couldn't work his way out.
He couldn't climb his way out. He was sealed and shut up to
the sovereign mercy of God. He looked outside himself for
his only hope of salvation. He knew it had to come from the
Lord and it did. His deliverance was of the Lord,
of the Lord. He delivereth, look at verse
27. You remember what Darius said? He delivereth and rescueth. He worketh signs and wonders,
the true and living God, the God of Daniel. His dominion is
everlasting. Salvation is of the Lord. The
good and grand glorious news of the gospel concerning the
Lord Jesus Christ is that he came and honored his own law.
for us, suffered the penalty and judgment of his own law for
us. He redeemed us from the curse
of the law being made a curse for us. He endured our punishment
and set us free by taking our sin, our guilt, our punishment,
enduring our wrath, and fully delivering us from the curse
of his own law. God had indeed sent his angel
and stopped the lion's mouth. in the fullness of time God sent
forth his son made of a woman made under the law to redeem
them that were under the law the Lord Jesus Christ redeemed
us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us now
here's a question for us We read in the scripture a while
ago from Isaiah 45. Many pray unto a God that cannot
save. Many pray unto a wood idol that
cannot save. Or they pray unto a God who wants
to and can't unless you let him. Many pray unto a God who cannot
deliver. We read in Isaiah 45, Assemble
yourselves and come. Draw near together you that are
escaped of the nation. They have no knowledge that set
up wood of their graven image, and they pray unto a God that
cannot deliver. cannot save. Is your God able
to deliver you? Now every man has some whittled
out imagination of the God that he serves. I mean by nature,
left to himself. He's whittled him out, some kind
of refuge, some kind of God. Now the question is, is your
God able to deliver you from your sin, from the penalty of
sin? The Lord Jesus Christ indeed
came to deliver his people. So all Israel shall be saved
as it is written, there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer,
capital D, and shall turn ungodliness and shall deliver all Israel
and save all Israel from their sin. Our God is able to deliver
thee. He delivereth, he rescueth, he
worketh signs and wonders, who hath delivered Daniel. Daniel's
God is our God who delivers us. Our God is able to deliver us.
Listen to these scriptures. Able to deliver us from our sin. Is He able? How would you answer
that question? Is our God able to deliver us
from our sin? Yes. Yes! He appeared once in the end of
the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Is our
God able to save and deliver us and give us salvation? Yes! And He does so by His grace. He's able to save to the uttermost
all that come to God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make
intercession for us. He's able to save us and deliver
us by His purpose and by His power. It's God who saved us
and called us, not according to our work, but according to
His own power, His own purpose, and that's an eternal purpose.
Our God is able to deliver us. Able to deliver us from the judgment
of God. It's appointed that a man wants
to die, and after that, judgment. Is our God able to deliver us
from judgment? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God who justifies us. In Christ there is therefore
now no condemnation to those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ. God who spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things? Is your God able to deliver you?
Yes, He is. And yes, He has. Able to deliver
us from our sin. Able to deliver us by His grace
and save us by His power to redeem us and put away our sin. Able
to deliver us from the judgment bar of God. How about the grave? Is our God able to deliver us
from the grave? Yes. Yes, listen to Scripture. "...who shall change our vile
body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,
according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all
things unto himself." Is our God able to keep us and present
us faultless before the presence of God's glory? Is our God able to present us
Yes, you know how He presents us the Father, before the Father,
before His throne? Our Lord Jesus Christ presents
us to the Father, holy, unblameable, unreprovable in His sight. That's
how I want to be presented, and that's how every believer is
presented right now before God. Faultless before the presence
of God glory with exceeding joy You see the Lord Jesus Christ
is both the just God and Savior He justified his own law. The
law was against us. God can't change his law. He
had to honor his law That's what Christ did every precept every
penalty. He honored the law to enable
God to be a just God and Savior God is the just and the justifier
of them which believe in the Lord Jesus, justified freely
by His grace through the redemption that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Is your God able to deliver thee?
Absolutely, and He has in Christ Jesus.