7-16-2006
Integrity - Remove Your Price Tags
Daniel 6:1-28
Pastor Don Jones
West Glendale Baptist Church
We are coming to the end of our series in Daniel. We have explored a great deal concerning integrity in Daniel’s life. Integrity involves many aspects of life. It has to do with sticking to your beliefs even when others pressure you to believe otherwise. It means we grasp the concept that God is God and we are not and that He deserves all the credit for our accomplishments. It involves realizing that there may be a cost involved in following Jesus. It is not simple to follow Him in today’s world. To follow Him, we must depend on Him totally. And most importantly, integrity involves finishing strong in the race of life. As Paul says in one of my favorite passages in Philippians 3:13,
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
Cue slide - The Distinction
Daniel, as mentioned last week, is in his eighties. The kingdom changed hands the night after his prophecy to Belshazzar. Belshazzar had lost his life to king Darius of the Medes. Darius now controlled the region of Babylon and the surrounding lands. Verses 1-2 says,
It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
Daniel evidently continued to work under the kingship of Darius and was appointed one of three individuals over the satraps. These satraps were underlings, bureaucrats, inferiors, under the king and under Daniel. He was put in charge of them and in the process, impressed Darius as he had Nebuchadnezzar to the point he was to be second only to Darius. He was in a difficult spot, didn’t really approve of his employer, was still in exile, seemingly only gets to deliver bad news to kings (a very dangerous task) and yet, he continues to be the employee of the month. Ecclesiastes 10:9b which says,
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might......
Daniel must have taken this to heart because he was again, by God’s grace, rising in the kingdom. Unfortunately, others were jealous of his hard work and industrious character. Verses 4-6 say,
At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”
Cue slide - The Deception
One definition of satrap was petty bureaucrat. It describes what happens next in the account. They must have been politicians of a sort because they wanted to do some "old fashion mud-slinging" in order to eliminate Daniel and advance their own positions. Hoping to find something against Daniel, these men did a thorough background check. What they found is what we already know. Daniel was a man of impeccable character. He was a true man of integrity. They found nothing they could use.
Ask yourself this question, "If someone was to become jealous of you or your position in life and did a thorough background check on you, would your life be like Daniels"?
Daniel was a man of God. He worshipped, prayed, and lived his life around the Lord. They would use his faith against him. The officials hatched a plot involving Daniel’s prayer life. Verses 6-9 says,
So the administrators and the satraps went as a group to the king and said: “O King Darius, live forever! The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. Now, O king, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” So King Darius put the decree in writing.
The king issued the decree. It was only 30 days. I am sure the administrators buttered him up like an ear of corn. Surely it wouldn’t make a difference to anyone after all, you’re the king. You should expect a little homage, you rule the world.
Cue slide - The Dedication
It made a difference to Daniel. Sure at this point he could have simply said, "I have served God over eighty years, He won’t mind if I bend at this point and skip my prayer time for a month." Instead, verse ten tells us what he did when he heard the decree
Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
Daniel knew that what we do on a daily basis impacted eternity. He was unwilling to compromise in the face of adversity and at a little over eighty he was unwilling to change his core values and beliefs no matter what the cost. He didn’t mind if others saw him.
We find this truth in one of the summer’s blockbuster films starring Johnny Depp. Dr. Marc T. Newman writes in, In Peril of Our Souls: Theological Considerations from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
"What makes all of the Pirates of the Caribbean films stand out from your average swashbuckler is that these movies are not primarily concerned with treasure maps and buried doubloons. As The Curse of the Black Pearl demonstrated, no amount of tainted gold is worth the soul-destroying effects of the curse. Dead Man’s Chest never even pretends to be about the more mundane aspects of pirating. From the beginning of the film the story arc centers on souls as the most valuable trading commodity. As Pintel and Regetti, two of the pirates from the first film who were saved from ghastly immortality, are rowing for shore, Regetti tells his partner that now that they are mortal again, "We’ve got to take care of our immortal soul." Truer words you will not find spoken, even in more serious films.
Jesus taught His disciples that there was no possession on this Earth valuable enough to warrant risking your soul. He argued that there was no profit in gaining the world if your soul was the purchase price (Matt. 16:25-26). True worth resides in that which is eternal, not temporal. And when all is said and done, nothing material will make the final journey with you. Your soul will stand naked before God for judgment. It makes sense to take care of your soul."
Daniel didn’t mind if others saw him. He opened his windows toward Jerusalem, he was in the habit of doing, and prayed. At this point in preparation last week I repented of all those times I haven’t prayed in a restaurant or in public because I might be embarrassed. It made me wonder at what my price would be.
Again Dr. Marc T. Newman writes, "There would not be much drama, however, if no one were in peril in a pirate film. There is plenty of swordplay, and a ship-crunching Kraken lurks in the deep, but such threats can only harm one’s body. The real danger lies in risking one’s soul. Dead Man’s Chest demonstrates that many ways can lead to the soul’s forfeit. Some characters literally sell their souls. Others wager them. Some are seduced by the hope of gain. But the most dangerous routes are the most subtle – doing wrong in the interest of a right end."
Cue slide - The Demise
The petty bureaucrats saw Daniel and immediately ran to the king and told him that Daniel was praying to his God. How did they know to whom he was praying? I wonder if they had a spy outside his door to know what he was saying. This account reminds me of all the years of teaching where kids would tattle to get their playground rival in trouble. This was a petty squabble involving jealousy and envy.
The king was left with no choice. He had given the edict, sealed it with his ring and it was law. Darius was caught in his own trap of pride at that point. He tried to find a way out. He was grieved, so much so that nothing could console him. But in went Daniel. Verses 16-18 say,
So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.
Cue slide - The Deliverance
The king said he hoped Daniel’s God would rescue him and in the morning at dawn he ran to the pit. Verses 21-23 give us an awesome account of the conversation. It says,
At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”
Daniel answered, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king.” The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
He was once again delivered by God’s power. Some have suggested that the lions looked at Daniel. Noticed he was eighty and simply knew the meat was too tough to chew. Thankfully scripture says the Lord closed their mouths and Daniel wasn’t even scratched. Daniel was faithful unto death and we see another demonstration of God’s faithfulness to His servants.
Cue slide - The Dinner
The somewhat amusing twist to the story is; in the king’s elation over Daniel being alive; he was also enraged at the ones who accused him falsely. He ordered them to suffer the fate of Daniel but they were not delivered by God or king Darius. Verse 24 says,
At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
Dr. Marc T. Newman writes one more time, "Some people think that the idea of selling one’s soul to the devil is a just a fictional device: think The Picture of Dorian Grey or Dr. Faustus. But the Bible is not silent on the subject. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan, the devil offered Christ the kingdoms of the world in exchange for worship. Jesus refused, but many humans have succumbed to that temptation, selling themselves much cheaper. The Screwtape Letters, Lewis’ primer on demonic strategy, details a host of approaches to destroying the souls of humankind. There are a million ways to fall, but only one way to stand."
What is your price? What has caused you to make the wrong choices in your life and sell God out? What has kept you out of God’s will? I would guess it hasn’t brought you happiness or peace. I would bet when compared to eternity it was a cheap deal. I know that our Lord paid the ultimate price on the cross to buy you back from your sin. Are you ready to begin living the life of uncompromising faith through Jesus today? It is never too late, as long as you are breathing, to believe and trust in Jesus.
Outline
Integrity - Remove Your Price Tags 7-16-2006
Daniel 6:1-28 WGBC
I. The Distinction
Darius was king
Daniel was promoted, again
II. The Deception
Satraps were petty bureaucrats
Jealousy arose, duped the king
Accused Daniel
III. The Dedication
Daniel prayed
Disobeyed the edict, obeyed God
IV. The Deliverance
Thrown into the lions den
Delivered by God, again
King was relieved
V. The Dinner
Darius was angry at the accusers
Lions had dinner on the bureaucrats
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might......Eccl. 10:9b
