Sunday, October 17, 2021 AM

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Sunnyside Baptist Church Michael Dirrim Pastor of Sunnyside Baptist Church OKC

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Come on in.
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Welcome to Sunnyside Baptist this morning. It's good to see everyone here today. We're going to get started with a few announcements this morning.
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Come back for our evening service tonight at 530 here at the church. And then looking ahead to Wednesday, we'll have dinner at 545, tag for the kids and Bible study and prayer at 630 for the adults.
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And then coming up Sunday, October 24th, next Sunday, Truth Group after the evening service for the young adults.
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And then Wednesday of that week, we'll have a Reformation emphasis time since it is a
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Reformation month. And then the next Sunday after that, we'll be having the Lord's Supper in the morning service.
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That's October 31st. Our fighter verse for this week. It's a short one, but a good one.
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So we should be able to memorize it. Proverbs chapter 1 verse 10. My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.
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If you are over any kind of budgetary items with regard to the church budget, please try and get those in by the end of this month, just so that they can have time to plan and coordinate church budget items.
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We've been talking about Operation Christmas Child all year, and we will have a video before Pastor Michael comes up and opens us in prayer.
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But we're going to be looking at having kind of a church -wide shoebox putting together time
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Sunday, November 7th after the morning service. So look for that. Be a time to gather together and just do that as a church and all the work that we've done over the course of the past year.
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Put those together for those kids. Sewing Ministry still has a few needs that you can look at.
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There is no Children's Church today because it is fall break. The Roberts are out of town. So kids will be staying in here for the duration of the service.
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Any other announcements this morning? Okay, we're going to watch a brief video.
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And then after that, Michael will come up and open us in prayer. Right now, we're in Saipan.
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We've just finished Operation Christmas Child here at the church. This is the first Operation Christmas Child distribution here in Palau.
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Thank you for praying and thanking. We look forward to what God is going to do. This is one of many shoebox distributions we've been doing on the nation of Kiribati.
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My dad felt the call to go to the Pacific and help these island nations. We've got a ship called the
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North Star. We're going to fill it with shoeboxes from Operation Christmas Child. A thousand islands for the next five years.
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And we reach these islands for Christ. We need your help and we need your prayers as we go island to island to island taking the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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It is a new initiative with Operation Christmas Child. We'll be going to many, many islands over the next few years to try to reach every child in the
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Pacific, partnering with the churches so that the churches can share the gospel on their islands. Some of the islands are very remote.
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Not all of them have electricity. They don't have internet. So it's a challenging project, too, just with the logistics of getting places.
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But we see it being important, even in these places that are hard to get to. You come with the right hand to have the people's physical needs.
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And on the other hand, you meet the spiritual need. And when I look at OCC to come and give their time and their resources for the next five years to reach the islands,
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I would say, yes, that is something that I want to do. And that's something that I pray for. And that's something that I even go myself to be part of what's happening with this island.
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It was awesome watching the children. We were really joyful because we could see the joy in their faces and the surprise.
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All week, the children have been excited about it. And I'm just happy.
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We're limited on resources. So having this big picture, you know, to show the kids, cements the gospel in them, and they will not forget it.
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OCC is a blessing to us here in Palau, and especially here in my island home,
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Miwa State. We are very thankful. You know, the Bible says that we have the opportunity to reap where we have not sown.
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Operation Christmas Child was a gift to these kids from Jesus, and also to us to be able to give us the opportunity to have something in our hand as we go and minister to these kids and to these families to show them the greatest gift of all, which is
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Jesus Christ. When we reach out to a child, of course, the family is also being outreached.
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They have seen our church grow as a result of Operation Christmas Child. And the greatest journey, the greatest journey is the lesson that would really make the children be grounded in the word of God.
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You want all the children to hear Christ. Out of this time, they will build upon this rock that is on this world, that as they grow up, they will be strong with the will of Christ.
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It really shows the heart of Jesus when you minister to children, because these children really don't have anything in earthly possession to give back.
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But they are able to receive the love of Jesus. There's no strings attached.
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It's just his free gift of love that he has given. Scripture tells us go throughout all ends of the earth and bring the good news of Jesus Christ to make fishers of men.
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That's what we've been called to do. And that's why it's absolutely important that we're out here on all ends of the earth.
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We're here on Tarla. If you look on a map, it is way out in the Pacific. It is a remote location.
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We're not here. Who's going to come? And that's what I love about Operation Christmas Child. It knows no borders and knows no boundaries.
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It's all about sharing the name of Jesus Christ. Encouraging to see that video and recall that in Isaiah, the islands and the coastlands will be filled with the glory of the
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Lord, the message of the hope of Christ, the new covenant, and to see that God's word is true and to see the gospel going forth.
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It's encouraging. Looking forward to our playing a role in that and being participants in that this year.
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Again, we pray for us and we'll worship the Lord together. Father, I thank you so much for this time.
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I thank you for bringing us together to worship you, to rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is our great hope, our savior.
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We thank you that the news of Jesus is traveling far and wide and being attended with acts of compassion and great care for people who are in need.
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And Lord, I pray that you would bring, continually bring light and freedom and joy and faith and hope to the nations.
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Lord, I thank you that we have gathered here together as people of the nations whom you have set your love upon and we are here by your grace.
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And I pray that you would fill our hearts with thanksgiving and that we would live out that thanksgiving by our loving acts of service and our commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ to ensure that it goes forth broadly and accurately and with great power.
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Lord, we look to you for that and pray that today that as we worship together that you would be honored and glorified in all that occurs here.
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I pray for those who can't be with us, those who are sick and those who are unable to make it because they're traveling or some other of your providences have hindered them.
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But Lord, I pray that you would encourage them. I pray that you would help us to pray for them and to reach out to them and that you would greatly bless our entire church flock today.
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And we pray these things for Christ's sake. Amen. Good morning.
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It's good to see some new newer faces yet still. I'm glad there's recovery from illness and other returns.
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So would you stand with me as we read our call to worship this morning? And then while you're preparing to do that in our our first song will be in our
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Psalms book 71 C. But I will hope continually and will praise you and more and more.
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My mouth will tell of your righteousness of your deeds of salvation all the day.
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For their number is past my knowledge with the mighty deeds of the
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Lord. I will come. I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.
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I'll come to tell the mighty deeds. For some of you, this may not be a familiar tune, but it's familiar words.
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And we'll sing the first verse twice. And then number four from your blue hymnal.
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And feel the gentle breeze. Then sings my soul, my
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Savior God, to Thee. I'll break the wall.
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I'll break the wall. Then sings my soul, my
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Savior God, to Thee. I'll break the wall.
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I'll break the wall. And when
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I think that God, His Son not sparing, sent
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Him to die, my scares can't take it in.
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That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
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He bled and died to take away my sin.
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Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee.
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I'll break the wall. I'll break the wall.
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Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee.
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I'll break the wall. I'll break the wall.
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With shout of acclamation, and take me home, but joy shall fill my heart.
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Then I shall bow in humble adoration.
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Then sings my soul, my
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Savior God, to Thee. Then sings my soul, my
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Savior God, to Thee. I'll break the wall. I'll break the wall. Therefore the
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Lord will strike with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the
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Lord will uncover their secret parts. And that day, the
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Lord will take away the finery, the jingling anklets, the scarves, and the crescents, the pendants, the bracelets, and the veils, and the headdresses, the leg ornaments, and the headbands, the perfume boxes, the charms, and the rings, the nose jewels, the festal apparel, and the mantles, the outer garments, the purses, and the mirrors, the fine linen, the turbans, and the robes.
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And so shall it be. Instead of a sweet smell, there will be a stench.
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Instead of a sash, a rope. Instead of well -set hair, baldness, instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth, and branding instead of beauty.
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Your men shall fall by the sword, and you're mighty in the war.
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Her gates shall lament and mourn, and she, being desolate, shall sit on the ground.
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And in that day, seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own food and wear our own apparel.
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Only let us be called by your name to take away our reproach. In that day, the branch of the
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Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing for those of Israel who have escaped.
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And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem.
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When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning, then the
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Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion and above her assemblies a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night.
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For over all the glory will be a covering, and there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge and for a shelter from storm and rain.
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Lord God, from this side of history and from your spirit, we can see that the branch is
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Jesus of Nazareth, and we who were estranged from the promises have been brought near by him.
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We who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and our
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Lord Jesus, thank you for redeeming us and reconciling us back, and that it was good for you to go to prepare a place for us, and you have poured out your spirit upon all flesh, and thus the spirit of your
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Son in our hearts cries out Abba. May it be our confession that only you have the word of life, and that we would not just be hearers but doers also, for we have the promise that you have given to us that all the labors for the sake of your
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Son are not in vain. We pray these things in gratitude to Lord Jesus, you gave it all.
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Amen. Please be seated.
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What a blessing that the word turns a heart of stone into a heart of flesh.
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Our next song is 532, Higher Ground, and then He Will Hold Me Fast, which if you picked up a music sheet you should have.
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Let me stand, my faith on heaven, my feet on higher ground.
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My heart has no desire to stay where doubts arise and fears dismay.
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Though some may dwell where ghosts abound, my prayer, my aim is higher ground.
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Lord, lift me up and let me stand, my faith on heaven's stable land.
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A higher claim than I have found, Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
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I want to live above the world, where Satan's stars are led me world.
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For faith has called the joyful sound, the song of saints on higher ground.
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Lord, lift me up and let me stand, my faith on heaven's stable land.
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A higher claim than I have found, Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
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I want to scale the utmost heights and catch a gleam of glory bright.
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But still I'll pray till heaven I'm found, Lord, lead me to higher ground.
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Lord, lift me up and let me stand, my faith on heaven's stable land.
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A higher claim than I have found, Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
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Lord, lift me up and let me stand, my faith on heaven's stable land.
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A higher claim than I have found, Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
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A higher claim than I have found,
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Lord, plant my feet on higher ground. He will hold me fast when
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I fail. He will hold me fast.
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He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast.
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He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast.
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He will hold me fast.
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He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast.
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He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast.
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He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast.
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He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast.
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He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast.
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He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast.
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He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. Life england and I, Christ will hold me fast.
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Justice has been satisfied. He will hold me fast.
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Raised with Him to endless life,
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He will hold me fast Till our faith is turned to sight,
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When He comes at last.
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He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast,
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For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast.
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He will hold me fast, He will hold me fast,
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For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast.
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Turn with me to the Old Testament book of Daniel. Daniel chapter 6, and we'll be reading in verses 11 through 20 this morning.
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Daniel chapter 6, verses 11 through 20. Let's begin with a word of prayer.
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Father, I thank You for gathering us together today. You are a good and gracious God. You are a good
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God who does not change. With You there is no variation and no shifting shadow.
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And nothing comes to us that has not passed through Your hands and been shaped and crafted for our good and for Your glory.
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And every good and perfect gift comes down from You. And so, this day, this moment, the circumstances of our lives, where we are, in the here and now,
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Father, we give You thanks for all this. You have done it. You have arranged it.
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You have packaged it in such a way to bless us for the sake of Your Son and by the abundance of Your Spirit.
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And so, we pray that You would take this time and that You would bless it to us and that we would respond and bless
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You and bless Your name. I pray that You would encourage us in Your Word and shape us by Your Word and fill us with hope according to Your Word.
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And we pray these things for the sake of Jesus Christ, the one with whom You are well pleased.
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Amen. Daniel chapter 6,
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Daniel in the lion's den, a famous story that we have heard many times.
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But in Daniel 6, we must think about what we are witnessing.
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In Daniel 6, we behold a discerning son, a lawmaker at the right hand, faithful and wise, submitting to the ultimate lawgiver.
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Betrayed by those he was anointed to bless, he is falsely charged and cast into the pit of death.
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But death does not succeed. This servant is then brought forth in victory over his enemies, and the kingdom of God is then proclaimed among the nations.
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Familiar story? So, yes, we're looking at Daniel, but we're staring at Christ.
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Shadow to substance, the sign to the destination. And so we are instructed in faith, and we are encouraged in hope.
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We are exhorted in love. And in contrast to the picture of Christ, we are offered the meme of man.
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What do we have to fear about man? Time and again,
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God meets their checkers with his chess, their proud parades with his hailstorms, their paper gods with Mount Carmel fire.
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Let's read about this. As we turn our attention to Daniel 6, beginning in verse 11, remember that the enemies of Daniel have tricked the king into signing legislation which cannot be altered, which forbids any prayer to anyone except for the king for 30 days.
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And that very day Daniel went home and prayed, as he always did, three times that day to the
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Lord. And now we're going to read about the fallout. If you will stand with me, if you're able.
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I'm going to read Daniel 6, verses 11 through 20. This is the word of the
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Lord. Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his
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God. And they went before the king and spoke concerning the king's decree.
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Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within 30 days except you,
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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
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Medes and Persians, which does not alter. So they answered and said before the king, That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you,
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O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.
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And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him.
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And he labored to the going down of the sun to deliver him. Then these men approached the king and said to the king,
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Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statue which the king establishes may be changed.
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So the king gave the command. And they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions.
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But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, Your God, whom you serve continually, he will deliver you.
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Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed.
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This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. It is perhaps unsurprising that it only took a few decades for the absurdities of an anti -Christ government school system to manifest to the joy of comedians everywhere.
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Outlawing Christian prayer, the Ten Commandments, and biblical instruction in the name of secular pluralism sounded so lofty in the beginning.
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But where has it led? To the degrading of education and the degrading of children.
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It has led to the outlawing of backpacks in some places and the outlawing of the use of bathrooms and the outlawing of parental protest against abuse.
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Now, who could have ever thought that such a collapse would come about? It's not really hard to project, and many have been doing so for decades and been called lunatics.
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The point to be made here is simply this, that if educators desire to import wisdom and instruction to their students, why do they sever them from the fear of the
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Lord? In the name of liberty and freedom, the kite is disconnected from the string.
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And whatever freedom of movement the kite gains is short -lived, and it plummets then to the ground and is broken beyond repair.
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This is what happens when lawmakers sever themselves from the law -giver.
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And rather than advance in righteousness and in justice, they crash and burn as infamous bullies and tyrants.
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But there is no real power in godless legislatures, executors, and judiciaries. All authority is derived.
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All authority is granted by God, and he alone is to be feared. Samuel's mother,
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Hannah, prayed this way in 1 Samuel 2, beginning in verse 6.
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He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap to set them among princes and to make them inherit the throne of glory.
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For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he has set the world upon them.
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He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked shall be silent in darkness.
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For by strength no man shall prevail.
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The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces from heaven. He will thunder against them.
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The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed, his
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Messiah in the Hebrew, his Messiah, his Christ. When this is remembered, it is clear that whoever keeps the law is a discerning son.
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Whoever fears the Lord and follows after his will is a discerning son.
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Lawmakers must submit to the law giver. We saw in verses 1 through 10 that we saw
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Daniel as a discerning son who obeys God rather than men. A man made a law that said you can't pray to anyone but the king, and Daniel obeyed
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God instead and prayed to God rather than to the king. Dale Ralph Davis, a few years ago, in reflection upon the whole chapter of Daniel 6, wrote this,
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We must answer the question, what matters most? The worship of God or my safety?
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What was written in 2014 rings a little bit different in 2021, doesn't it?
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Now we're seeing in verses 11 through 17, the discerning son trusts in the
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Lord, not fearing man. And this is obvious, but it needs to be stated, that when the laws of men infringe upon the word of God, the saints break man's law and keep
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God's law. And why is that? Because they are discerning sons and daughters who trust the
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Lord rather than fear men. You see, given the choice to presume upon the clearly revealed will of God and the clearly revealed will of man, those who trust in the
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Lord will profane the high and mighty mandates of men and may do so without the slightest discomfort of soul.
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The mandates of men may seem too heavy to resist, too large to work around, too swift to avoid.
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But we must always trust in the Lord. He is our refuge. Kiss the sun. Do homage to the sun.
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He has been established on God's holy hill. He wields the rod of iron. And no matter how scary or ugly or big the clay pot is,
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Christ's iron rod will make short work of it. And as we read this chapter,
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Daniel seems to be in a very bad position. There doesn't seem to be anything that he can do.
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The whole bureaucratic steamroller of the Medo -Persian empire is set in motion, and it's coming to flatten poor
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Daniel. But let's watch what happens. We see man's spring -loaded laws in verses 11 through 13.
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These jealous governors and satraps and officials who tricked King Darius into condemning
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Daniel to death are no doubt very satisfied with the progress of their scheme. Their cleverness, however, is short -sighted.
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Have they even considered what will happen when they succeed at killing the best administrator in the empire and ridding
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Emperor Darius of his favorite servant? Have they thought about what comes next?
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I mean, they're maneuvering all of their pieces to score that double jump, but have no idea they're in a chess game.
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Here's the setup. Verse 11, Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his god.
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As they knew it would happen, they've got him. And as they view these troubling, destabilizing, and unsafe actions of Daniel, they are no doubt recorded in triplicate, and the official paperwork is filed post -haste.
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The pomposity of godless lawmakers is only surpassed by their officiousness.
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They could not help but be inwardly pleased with themselves, even as they wore the somber, judicious masks required for the occasion.
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You see, we've been aware since verse 4 of the jealous motives of these lawmakers. We've seen behind the curtain of unity and observed their sinister machinations.
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They have built a trap, a sealed room into which they have led the emperor.
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They have coaxed the king into their trap. And before they reveal to him his inability to escape, they can't help themselves but point out the features of the room once more.
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Verse 12, They went before the king and spoke concerning the king's decree.
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Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within 30 days, except you,
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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
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Medes and Persians, which does not alter. And you've got to wonder if Darius is suspicious at this point.
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Didn't we just go over this yesterday? Why all this preamble?
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It feels like a setup. And it was. And it was followed by a takedown.
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Verse 13, So they answered and said before the king, That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you,
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O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.
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You see how he's identified that Daniel, one of the captives from Judah.
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It's been well over 60 years since captives from Judah were transplanted by the
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Babylonian Empire. The fact that they retain their identity at all after a generation and a half is a testament to the grace of God.
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This is, of course, his plan that his people remain distinct and serving as a light to the nations.
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Their distinction, of course, makes them easier to target.
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The fact that they are set apart from everybody else makes them easier to to isolate and then to persecute.
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And thus it has been throughout history. But God uses this to the detriment of our enemies and his enemies.
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These jealous officials, you see, they've got Daniel in their crosshairs and it is a can't miss shot.
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Because not once and not twice, but three times, Daniel has made his petition to God. There's no way that this can be denied.
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And look at these officials. I mean, just look at them. Look how beneficent and patient and generous and long -suffering they are.
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They waited till after the third offense, when they obviously could have arrested Daniel after the first.
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But no, no, no. They prove that they are better than other men. And they demonstrate that they are only interested in prosecuting the most egregious failures to this new mandate.
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I mean, think about how good and righteous the Canadian Mounties appeared in not arresting pastors with inaccurate warrants and illegally seizing church property until after the second or third offense.
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They were so patient, long -suffering and nice. Definitely nice.
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Think about how good and righteous and patient the Kentucky State Police appeared in waiting until after several offenses before ticketing families in their spaced out cars, trying to worship
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Jesus together in the parking lot of their own church. Oh, they were so patient and long -suffering, weren't they?
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When believers do not give the desire to do reverence for the state, the gods and their enforcers will respond.
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And they will do so in a way that they believe establishes their own righteousness. Look also at this chief lawmaker,
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Darius. Look how easily he was taken in. I mean, he got taken very easily.
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He got fooled very easily. Daniel, remember, had put no faith in Darius, no matter how much favor he had with the king.
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And he was the king's favorite. He put no faith in Darius. When the unrighteous mandate went out about you can't pray to anyone but the king, what did
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Daniel do? He went home and prayed to the Lord. He did not reach out to Darius and try to cash in his social credit or make a withdrawal from his cultural capital or try to leverage his leadership equity to ensure his own seat at the table, did he?
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But these are the desires and idols of many churchmen today. These are the hopes of many
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Christians today, to have some leader who will greatly favor us and give us the opportunity to gain all manner of social credit.
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Daniel had both in spades, and by the folly and foul play of man, it evaporated in a day.
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Where is our hope? Where is our trust? What are we aiming for?
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Notice, secondly, under this heading, man's sovereign wax in verses 14 through 17.
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We are to consider the strength and splendor of man's sovereignty as it's put on display here in Daniel 6.
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And we are meant to understand that it is not much at all. I mean, really, what here in these verses could destabilize
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Daniel's trust in the Lord? What could possibly be here so weighty as to pull
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Daniel away and out of orbit around the revelation of God in Christ, to begin to fear man?
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There is at first a struggle of words, and then secondly a contest of wills, but the best that the king and the governors and the satraps and officials can muster is a little bit of wax.
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First of all, the struggle of words in verses 14 through 15. And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him, and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him.
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Then these men approached the king and said to the king, No, O king, that it is the law of the
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Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed. Now the king could have been angry with his officials who obviously trapped him, but that would have been nonsensical.
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He's the king. I mean, he's responsible for his own discernment. He's responsible for not getting tricked, and he did, and so he was upset with himself because he saw that his gullibility, his prideful blindness, has now been used to target
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Daniel, and he likes Daniel. He feels a personal responsibility for Daniel, for what has happened now to him, and so he's trying to stop it.
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But the time frame for intervention comes and goes with no legal avenue to deliver his faithful servant, his wise vicegerent from this horrible doom scripted in this unrighteous law.
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And if Darius did not follow through with the law, he would be subject to the punishment himself, and Daniel would still get killed.
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So the struggle of words comes to an end as the sun sets behind the horizon, and he has no answers.
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He has no words, nothing he can do on a legal basis to overturn what he's already done.
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Confronted by his officials, it's clear no legal path remains. Daniel is done for, or is he?
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Because behind and above this struggle of words is actually a contest of wills, man's will versus God's will, and that's not much of a contest, but it is what is going on, verses 16 through 17.
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And Darius even refers to the contest of wills. We see that in a kind of possibly lame, unbelieving attempt to comfort his valued servant.
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Maybe he already was becoming a believer, seeing the example of Daniel. We don't quite know, but there is a contest.
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Will Daniel's God prevail, or will the will of man prevail?
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That is the pressing question. But it's kind of like the
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Wilika outlaws going to play the Georgia Bulldogs between the hedges. It's not much of a contest.
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The outcome is assured. God is going to prevail. Look at verses 16 to 17 again.
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So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, Your God, whom you serve continually, he will deliver you.
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Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed.
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The only thing which seems to the king to be more resolute than his own desire to deliver
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Daniel, more solid than this cursed, unchangeable law, is
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Daniel's own faith in his God. As unchangeable as the
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Medes and Persians law is, as strong as Darius has desired to rescue
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Daniel, stronger than both of these is the faith that Daniel has in God.
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And so this is the only comfort that Darius can think of to offer to Daniel in this critical moment. And he says, well, if you're willing to die for your
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God, then it makes sense that he might be willing to keep you alive. Maybe it was stronger than that for Darius.
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Perhaps already the Holy Spirit was at work in Darius's life. We don't know how strongly
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Darius actually believed this, but we do need to make an assessment of how strongly we believe it.
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How strong do we believe this? Do we believe that Christ is worthy?
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Do we believe that Christ is worthy, worthy of our very lives?
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Do we believe that he will save us? Do we believe that absent from this body we are present with the
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Lord? Do we believe that he even now, he rules and reigns and intervenes, delivering and protecting his sheep?
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Have we appropriately weighed the challenge which Christ gives to us?
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Mark 8, whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.
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For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake in the gospels will save it.
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For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?
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Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the
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Son of Man also will be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
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How strongly do we believe that our Savior will save us?
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Look with me again at verse 17. Here is the best that man can do.
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Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed.
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Now we need to recognize taunting when we read it in the Bible. When this story is told right, especially the kids in the story, hearing the story should start chuckling.
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So they thought that putting their signets into some wax would do the trick.
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Look how pompous and complicated man is in his absurdity.
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The lords and kings of Medo -Persia, according to their ridiculous law, seal the stone upon the den, which means they melt wax and they pour it over a section of the stone where it meets the rock of the den, and then they all impress that soft wax with the signet rings and the shape on the ring appears onto the wax.
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And why do they do this very officious act? Because, you know, that way their purpose to have
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Daniel eaten by lions couldn't possibly be altered and changed. I mean the hot wax and the signet would do it.
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Now it's all over for Daniel. Nothing can stand in the way of hot wax and signet rings.
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Don't miss the high pomposity and grandeur of men. Watch them sign bills into laws with 32 different pins.
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And then they put their masks back on for the picture. And then they pretend that they read what they signed. It's hilarious.
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And it's not very different from the way it has been. Man is very pompous and complicated in his stupid claim to sovereign power.
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But God, notice what he does. He utterly frustrates men with the most basic providence.
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He just closes the lion's mouth. He just, okay, lion's mouths are closed.
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How simple. How powerful. How utterly now undone is the will of man.
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In this so -called contest of wills between man's purpose and God's purpose, there's no real contest.
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Remember that prior to the Jews and the Romans killing Jesus and then sealing his den of death with wax and signets,
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Jesus refuted Pilate's prideful claim to sovereignty.
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John 19, verses 10 and 11, Then Pilate said to him, Are you not speaking to me?
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Do you not know that I have power to crucify you and power to release you?
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Jesus answered, You could have no power at all against me unless it had been given you from above.
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Therefore, the one who delivered me to you has the greater sin.
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Lawmakers are accountable to the law giver. Those who directly agitate for the killing of God's man and the removal of God's authority and the silencing of God's word are more responsible than those lawmakers who roll over lazy cowards and capitulate to the raging mob, but all give an account to the one with whom we all have to do.
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We certainly know that we are to pray and, in obedience to Christ, labor for righteous change, but we do not need to lose sleep over these matters.
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Jesus does not want us ripping out our hair or stooping down in anxiety and terror. He says that to us in Matthew 6.
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So do not fear unrighteous laws. Fear God and disobey them.
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Man can try and dress up tyranny as right as they like, but there is no guilt and no shame for those who follow
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Jesus. Be Christians. Take up your cross like your brothers and sisters across the globe.
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Follow Christ. Bless your neighbors. Improve your communities. Render unto Caesar the things that belong to Caesar and render to the
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Lord everything that belongs to him. Trust the Lord. Don't fear man.
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Be discerning sons and daughters. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the story of Daniel in the lion's den and how you use it to boast about your son and show us how worthy he is and to remind us that we need not to fear man but to trust in you.
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Help us to do that in wise and discerning and effective ways. Lord, I pray that we would submit our lives to you and trust you in every situation.
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We pray these things for Christ's sake. Amen. Amen and amen.
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Would you stand as we sing our song of benediction? It's going to be in your hymns,
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Modern and Ancient, number 96. Haley sang this for us last week as a prelude, so now you get to sing it.
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O God, my joy. O God, my joy, you reign above In radiance, splendor, and beauty
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Your word has drawn my heart along The awesome sight of your glory
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Your pleasing light and gospel praise
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Shine brightly from my Savior's face
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Amen. Sustain my joy in trial and pain
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I trust your wisdom and mercy To suffer pain through all your days
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For like a son you will make me
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For Christ you raise the cross of shame
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The only love that's choice to call
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O give me faith like yestersea
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That suffering lifts me to morning
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Upheld by joy, I fight the sin
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That turns my gaze from your glory Your Holy Spirit dwells within His presence lasts me for victory
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And as in hell, against me rise
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Through death I'll gain eternal choice
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All powers of hell will bend to me
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Before my great King of glory
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May the love of the Father, and the grace of the Son, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.
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We are dismissed. Amen.