Daniels More Excellent Spirit (Zulu/english) — Erlo Stegen

I'd like to speak about Daniel, an amazing person who came across many things, many waves, but he was able to ride those waves. I'd like to speak about Daniel, an amazing person who came across many things, many waves, but he was able to ride those waves.

Daniel's Faithfulness Through Past, Present, and Future

I'd like to speak about Daniel, an amazing person who came across many things, many waves, but he was able to ride those waves. We need to learn from him, and if we want to live like that, we must make sure that the past has been put in order, and the current, and the future, and that we make sure that whatever problem we meet up with in the future, and even ultimately death, or the Lord's return, that we make sure that things are right before we even get there.

Daniel in the Lions' Den

And I'd like to speak about the story where he was thrown into the den. And I'd like to speak about the story where he was thrown into the den. This is Daniel, but we'll just select certain verses. This is Daniel, but we'll just select certain verses.

This is Daniel, but we'll just select certain verses. And when he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. And when he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice.

Then Daniel spoke to the king,. Then Daniel spoke to the king,. Then the king was very pleased and gave orders for Daniel to be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

Then the king gave orders, and they brought those men who had maliciously accused Daniel, and they cast them, their children, and their wives into the lion's den. And they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language who were living in all the land,. And he said, May your peace abound. I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom, men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God and enduring forever, and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, and his dominion will be forever.

We will stop reading there. Now here we are during the reign of Darius. He was the king of the Medes and Persians. That was after the reign of Belshazzar. And that his kingdom had been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.

So Darius became king thereafter. And during his reign he divided up his kingdom into different provinces, 120 of them, and made different people responsible. Now you can just compare it. In South Africa we've just got a few provinces.

There were 120. And he reigned over all of them. Now before we continue, let's pray again. Now we pray, Lord, that through your holy living word, you would work in our hearts. Help us, Lord, because if we want our present and our future to be right, then everything must be right, even the past.

Now please speak to us. Be in our midst. Amen. So then he appointed his 120 Setreps, the people that were responsible for the provinces. And over these 120 men, he placed three commissioners. And these men were appointed and the Setreps were accountable to them.

And the Setreps were accountable to the king. So these men were appointed because they had realized that there was a risk that something could go lost, especially financially, where money could go lost.

Daniel's Excellent Spirit and Faithful Work

And you know what money means to people. So they were appointed so that nothing would go lost. And once they started with their work, it was soon found that Daniel outperformed all of them. And that included the other two commissioners or presidents and the 120 governors of the provinces.

It soon became evident to the king that Daniel's life was of a higher standard and also his work was of a higher standard than all the others. And it said it was because of the spirit that was in him.

So that's the first point I want us to take note of. That people that are around us, that are with us, they notice what kind of spirit is in us. No matter what kind of a job you are given to do, even if it's an important job, but if the spirit within you is not the right spirit, things won't go well.

If you want to be a good influence and that your life brings life to those around you, then you need to have the right spirit. You cannot be in a high place if the spirit within you isn't that. And then when they noticed that this person had a higher job, better job, and also the spirit within him was a different spirit, like a higher spirit.

It was something that they didn't have. Then they became jealous. And because of their jealousy, they started looking for something which they could do. Something that they could blame in his life, some mistake, something wrong in his life which they could point out and accuse him of.

So they looked for a ground of accusation, something that they could blame him for regarding the kingdom, something which he had done wrong. But they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption.

As we read in verse 4, they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption inasmuch as he was faithful. No negligence or corruption was found in him. And that's what we need to learn as well, that the enemy will never find something which is wrong in our lives.

For the devil finds power over us because of the wrong things that we do. We will not overcome if any blame is found in us. If you want to live a victorious life, make sure that no blame, no spot is found in your life.

They had one investigation after the other, investigated all he did, even the books, everything, but they could find nothing wrong. The Lord said that if we aren't faithful even with money, the Lord will not give us the gift of his spirit.

The Lord said that if we aren't faithful even with money, the Lord will not give us the gift of his spirit. So we need to test and check whether we have been faithful and are faithful in financial matters, because we could pray for the Lord to bless us, but the Lord says he cannot bless us even with the spiritual things if we're not faithful with the earthly amendment, which is money.

Now we could delve deeper into that, but we want to cover the whole chapter, so this is just a point I'm mentioning in passing. But an important point, we need to be sure that we do not have any blame regarding financial matters.

Remember the Lord said that on judgment day you will be thrown into that prison and you won't get out until you've paid the last farthing, the last sin. So be sure that regarding financial matters your record is clear.

So they investigated everything, his whole life from A to Z, and they found nothing that they could blame him for. Now tell me, you boy, you girl, it still goes to school maybe, or you older person, you're married maybe, maybe you're a widow, a widower, tell me, if everything had to be investigated in your life, would your life also be blameless?

Before God, and even before the devil. Before God, and even before the devil. Before God, and even before the devil. Before God, and even before the devil. Before God, and even before the devil. Before God, and even before the devil.

Before God, and even before the devil. Before God, and even before the devil. Before God, and even before the devil. Before God, and even before the devil. Before God, and even before the devil. Before God, and even before the devil.

Before God, and even before the devil. Before God, and even before the devil. Before God, and even before the devil. Before God, and even before the devil. It's actually a joke. Something like this reveals their stupidity, their foolishness.

The Foolish Decree Against Prayer

And it wasn't only that you weren't allowed to make a petition or a request from any other God, but even from no other man, now imagine, even a child, if it wanted to eat something, it wasn't allowed to ask the mother anymore, it had to go to the king and ask for something to eat.

For 30 days, a whole nation, not asking. So even apart from God, you weren't even allowed to ask any other man for anything else. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing.

What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing.

What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing.

What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing.

What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. What a foolish thing. Now while that was happening, and when it had been signed, Daniel knew about it. Now just take note of what he did. What would you have done or said?

Maybe you would have said, well, I'll just stop praying for a month. I won't deny God, but I will just not openly pray to him or bow down to him. I'll just be quiet. I'll just pray in my heart. Because if I pray publicly or openly, they are going to sentence me to death.

Because if I pray publicly or openly, they are going to sentence me to death. They are going to throw me over a hill, a mountain, a mountainous region... So when Daniel heard that the king had signed this decree, and the document was signed, he went into his chamber, and his window was opened to Jerusalem.

He knelt down and he prayed to his God, like he had always done. And all his enemies, they quickly came, surrounded the house, and they heard him praying. And others may even have thought up an excuse to get into his house, maybe saying they've got to fix something, or maybe just to ask him something, just an excuse to get in, and then to find him on his knees.

Well, they found him there, and they were in a hurry to find out what he was doing, and they were in a great hurry to go and tell the king about it too. So when Daniel heard that, he went into his chamber, and he prayed to his God, like he had always done.

And others may even have thought up an excuse to get into his house, maybe just to ask him something, or maybe just to get into his house. And he prayed to his God, like he had always done. If we had more time, one could go into more detail.

Open Prayer and Unhindered Fellowship With God

But just another point, when Daniel prayed, his window was open towards Jerusalem. So make sure when you pray and you direct your prayer to the Lord, make sure that the window is also open and not closed.

For the Bible teaches that even when a man prays, he must live correctly with his wife, that his prayers may be unhindered. And when you bring your offering to the Lord, make sure that your relationship towards God and your fellow man is correct, otherwise your prayer won't reach heaven.

You could pray a lot, but if the window is closed, it goes nowhere. And maybe now you pray, the window is closed and you think, oh well, it makes no difference. But one day it's going to make a big difference.

When death comes and you pray and suddenly that window is still closed, you still cannot get through to God, then you'll be in big trouble. The flames of hell will lick you while you're still on this earth.

When Daniel heard that the document had been signed, he entered his house, opened the windows towards Jerusalem and he prayed. He didn't say, oh well, I'll close the windows, make sure no one notices, I'll do it in secret.

No, he did it openly. He lived his faith openly. Tell me, what kind of a Christian are you? Are you a genuine one or is it just a game? So these men were happy. They had achieved what they had set out, this big parliament.

The King's Distress and Daniel's Sentence

Now here in our country, we've got one president. In that time, in that kingdom, there were three. So this important parliament, as important as it was and as great as it was, they went and they quickly went to the king and they said, oh king, we found Daniel praying and oh how disappointed he was.

And he wanted to change it. They said, sorry, oh king, you cannot change what you've signed. But he goes, And though the king tried, they said, but you cannot change it. We've signed it. You've signed it.

He's broken the law. He needs to be thrown into the lion's den. The king was greatly distressed. And he wandered all day. He was wandering and he thought this way and that to try and get him to save Daniel because he knew what Daniel meant to him and what he meant in his kingdom.

And at mealtimes and in the evening, they brought the king all his kingly food, his royal food, the best they could bring with pudding and everything. Had a wonderful aroma, but he shook his head. He said, I don't want to eat anything.

He couldn't eat. Even all the royal entertainment that was always made for him. He didn't want anything of it. He didn't want to eat, but he was angry. He was angry. He said, this is what I've been told.

I will eat, and you will eat more. I don't want food. I've got good land. This is the land I'll live on. I'll live on this land and I'll get rich. And then these members of parliament put more and more pressure on the king to throw Daniel into the lion's den, not realizing that while they were fighting to have him thrown in today, they would be thrown in the next day with their wives and children.

So don't be short-sighted, like someone who can only see something very close by. Some people only as close as their nose, they can't see further than the tip of their nose, and some people's noses are quite long and yet they don't think that's not very far.

But that doesn't help. You dare not be so short-sighted. Many people that have left the right road were short-sighted. They didn't think what's going to happen to our children. Where will our children be tomorrow?

What will happen to them? They never thought of it. A person who doesn't think what his decision will bring upon him in the future, such a person is a fool. And I call him the biggest fool of all fools.

The biggest fool of all fools. Pray that God will enlighten you, open your eyes. Don't live just for today, look at tomorrow. Even you children, schoolchildren, yes you are still children, but at least learn from those that have gone ahead, who have had the experience.

So there was this King Darius who had no roots. He was not steadfast. As I said, he was also short-sighted. He couldn't think very far, like someone who never went to school. And yet again, there are those that go to school who are just the same.

They can't think very far. He regretted what he had done. He couldn't forgive himself. So they've got to forgive themselves. Forget about forgiving yourself. Confess your sin to God and he'll forgive.

Daniel's Consistent Service and Deliverance

He saw that he had no way out, so he ordered that Daniel be brought to him. And the king spoke to Daniel and said, oh Daniel, Daniel, servant of the living God, will God be able to save you from these lions, you who serve God constantly?

Even the king knew Daniel to be someone who served the Lord constantly, consistently. Not serving him now, the next thing not, and then again, and then not again. But no, he was known to be one who served him consistently.

He was known to be upright and faithful. So they took Daniel, threw him into the lion's den and covered it with a big stone. And the entrance of the den was sealed with the king's own ring and with the rings of all his nobles.

Amazing. It's amazing how it's also symbolic of the grave of our Lord Jesus, that tomb which was also covered with a big stone and sealed with that seal of the ruler of that time and how the Lord after three days rose again.

Well, that night the king couldn't sleep. He didn't want to be disturbed. He didn't have time for his wife or for anyone. Early the next morning while everyone was still asleep, the king couldn't sleep.

He got up, he went to the den and he called out with a troubled voice, Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you constantly serve been able to deliver you from the lions? And Daniel spoke to the king and said, Oh king, live forever.

Said, Oh king, God has sent his angels and shut them lions mouth. They haven't harmed me. I wonder if that angel wasn't the same angel that God sent when Daniel's friends were thrown into the fiery furnace where the king and the others looked.

And he said, but we only threw three people into the fiery furnace. Now we see four and the fourth looks like the son of man. It was Jesus himself. Could it be the same angel? I say, I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised at all.

If the genuine children of the Lord are in trouble, Jesus is there with him. And when the king heard Daniel's voice, he rejoiced greatly. And the king gave orders that Daniel be taken out of the den immediately.

Judgment on Daniel's Accusers

And then he gave further orders that all the men, all those people who had gone against David and had said he should be thrown into the den, that they should be taken with their wives and children and thrown into the den.

What had come across Darius. The previous day, he was afraid. Now suddenly he wasn't asking any more questions, asking anyone for advice. He just gave orders that stone should be removed. The seal should be removed.

He should be taken out, giving orders left and right. And those that had accused Daniel, they were rounded up. Daniel was taken out. They were thrown in. You see that it's, it's doesn't pay to go against the Lord and his people and against the faith.

They said, and he said, bring also their wives. Now, what did they have to do with it? Well, they deserve their punishment because they were party to the crime. They had supported their husbands while they did what they did.

They didn't try and stop them from doing it. And you wives need to live godly lives like God expects it. Otherwise you'll drive your husband away from you. He'll go to other woman, he'll bring AIDS back to you and you will die.

Maybe even before he does. Teach your husband that they should be able to also think further and not be short-sighted. And their children, their children as well, you parents who cannot teach and bring up your children in the proper way, you will die with them.

Maybe your child rules you and you may die with it. Maybe you side with your child in evil. Your child does something wrong. You side with it. You justify it. You stand on its side. Maybe you'll end up in hell with that child.

What beats me is this. Now, a lion normally just eats 30 kgs of meat in a week. If you breed lions, you'll have to make sure it gets 30 kgs of meat in a week. Now I don't know how it worked, but if you just think of the 120 prefects plus the commissioners and then their wives and their children.

Imagine what a heap of meat that must have been. And it said before they even touched the ground, they were caught in the air and they were crushed in their bones as well. And torn to pieces. It must have been tons of meat.

The lions didn't get tired. They caught them in the air. Before they touched the floor, they were ripped to pieces. That's the end of those that can't stand for God. Are there some in our midst that can't stand for God?

That is your end. And still worse, you'll be ripped daily in hell. Now let me draw to a close. Now who are you like? Are you like Daniel? Or are you like these other people, his accusers, his enemies, the people in the world?

Or King Darius, who had no backbone. But it's amazing that in spite of his weakness, God still used him and glorified himself. And then the king wrote, verse 25, from verse 25. Then Darius the king wrote all the peoples, nations, and men of every language who are living in all the land, may peace be with you.

Darius Proclaims the Living God

I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom, men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God. And enduring forever. And his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.

And his dominion will be forever. Amazing words which he wrote. Even though he started off on a bad note, but the end was good. He said all peoples, nations, and men of every language living in the land must tremble and fear the God of Daniel.

Now you who are listening to this, this letter is also addressed to you. All the kings and rulers, since the kingdom of God was established, all the kings and rulers, since that time of king Darius, they who do not fear God, they will die like Daniel's accusers and his enemies died.

And that applies to this very day. Even in this time, any ruler, wherever he is, in South Africa, Africa, Europe, all over the world, if he does not fear and tremble before the God of Daniel, then I pity him or her.

And then the king said these four different things about the God of Daniel, saying firstly he is the living God. Secondly, he is the living God. Thirdly, he is the living God. Fourthly, he is the living God.

Fifthly, he is the living God. And go and tell the people, go and tell the children that God, Jesus, is a living God. He is a living God. He is a living God. And King Darius said he, the God of Daniel, is the living God.

Amazing. He said it at that time, but even today there are people who don't believe him to be the living God. Some people even worship the dead or other gods and he proclaimed it long ago that he is the living God.

Fearing God as the Beginning of Wisdom

And we should fear him. I say even the students, if they get seven A's in matric, or eight or nine, they are very stupid if they don't fear God. That's the beginning of wisdom. And Daniel overcame immorality.

Daily being hunted by that immoral person. And when she grabbed hold of him, he left his coat behind. How could I do such a thing? And sinned before God. He feared God. He feared God. You hear you young boys, you stop your nonsense once, you fear God.

Even if you're alone in the baths, or in the bathroom, behind closed doors, if you fear God, that's the beginning of wisdom. If you don't fear God, you've got no wisdom whatsoever. Oh, if we'd only be people who fear God, then we'd stop sinning.

If you don't fear God, you've got no wisdom how to live. If you don't fear God, you've got no wisdom how to live. So he's the living God, enduring forever. His kingdom will not be destroyed. How often have people tried to destroy Christianity and the work of the Lord, but it will never, they will never succeed.

We still speak about King Darius II to this day. And his dominion will be forever. Now if I was your school teacher, I'd get you to write an essay on what we've heard today, writing about Daniel and the King and the others.

And then when I read your essay, then I'd be able to see whether you're writing about something which you yourself have experienced or not. But even though I'm not your teacher, I want you to know that I still take note of you.

I'm watching you. I can see your life. And one can see who has that spirit of Daniel and who doesn't. And you grown-ups, what kind of people are you? What are you made of? What kind of fiber have you got?

Are you made of the same steel as Daniel? And what spirit is within you? Even if you are old and you need a walking stick to get around with, but what spirit is in you? Is it Daniel's spirit that was in him?

Prayer for a Daniel-like Spirit

Let us stand up and pray. Thank you Lord that you're reminding us of Daniel today. We heard about him when he was older. When he was an old man, but spiritually he was as young as young could be, can be.

And as strong and spiritually alive as anyone can be. In spirit, as an old man, he was younger than even the young people. You know all of us here Lord. You know what we are made of. You know what kind of spirit is in us.

But I pray Lord that you will raise up people in our midst that are like Daniel, that will live like Daniel and overcome like he did. That they will have faith to overcome the world. I don't know how you respond in your heart.

Is your response to this message, Lord make me to be like Daniel. There's a German song that says, Lord make me to be like a Daniel. Before they sing let us pray again. Now Lord we pray that your grace will work in each one and make us to be like Daniel.

Amen.