Sacred Living in a Secular Society - Part 6
“Accepting Suffering and Trials”
1. THE DECREE OF DARIUS
Sometimes it’s costs to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
We don’t hear that very often do we? It’s like we want to hide that fact and only tell people all the good stuff about being a Christian.
Like the Army. When they advertise for new recruits they don’t say, “Sign up today and you’ll be sent to a stinking hot desert and you won’t see your family for months. Oh, and by the way, there’s a very good possibility you may be shot at or bombed and possibly killed.” No – they highlight the excellent training and the adventure of it all – the glamour.
And we sometimes want to promote the Christian life like that don’t we. Only tell the good stuff. But, you see, when God called you into his family, he never promised that all your problems would be over.
Take Daniel for example. There’s no doubt he was an outstanding man of God, but look at the trouble he faced when king Darius passed a royal decree.
DA 6:1 It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, DA 6:2 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. DA 6:3 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. DA 6:4 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. DA 6:5 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."
DA 6:6 So the administrators and the satraps went as a group to the king and said: "O King Darius, live forever! DA 6:7 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. DA 6:8 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put it in writing so that it cannot be altered--in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed." DA 6:9 So King Darius put the decree in writing.
There’s no doubt about it, our faith will sometimes get us into deep trouble. And the Lord warns us about this ....
PHP 1:29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him
The question is, why does God allow his people to suffer?
Primarily, God will allow suffering in your life because he knows that suffering will grow you. If you accept Jesus Christ as Lord, you must also accept that he will do whatever it takes to mold you into the person he created you to be.
Another reason God allows suffering is because he wants to show other people how his power works in your life. This is most likely the case for Daniel.
The apostle Paul wrote about this. He said ....
I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13)
Notice he didn’t write, “I can do everything in my own strength.” Trials and suffering push us to the end of ourselves – and then we have to rely in Jesus – and that’s when he shines through us the brightest – when we stop walking in our own strength and start letting Christ carry us.
You see ultimately – at the end of it all - if we remain faithful – when our faith is tested - God will take care of us.
2. THE DEVOTION OF DANIEL
But what does it look like to “remain faithful under pressure?”
Let’s look again at Daniel.
DA 6:10 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. DA 6:11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. DA 6:12 So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: "Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or man except to you, O king, would be thrown into the lions’ den?"
The king answered, "The decree stands--in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed."
DA 6:13 Then they said to the king, "Daniel, who is one of the exiles from , pays no attention to you, O king, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day." DA 6:14 When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.
DA 6:15 Then the men went as a group to the king and said to him, "Remember, O king, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed."
DA 6:16 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!"
DA 6:17 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. DA 6:18 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.
Daniel would rather die than stop praying! That’s what faithfulness under pressure looks like. Daniel would rather be torn apart - - eaten alive by Lions - - than remove God from the centre of his life.
How can we do that? How can we remain faithful under pressure? The writer of Psalms gives us a clue ...
Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced (Psalm 105:4-5).
3. THE DELIVERANCE OF THE LORD
God has the strength to deliver you. And his record proves it. Just look what he did for Daniel.
DA 6:19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. DA 6:20 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?"
DA 6:21 Daniel answered, "O king, live forever! DA 6:22 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."
DA 6:23 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.
Just like Daniel, if you remain faithful, God will take care of you.
This is God’s promise to everyone who chooses to do the same..
PS 91:14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. PS 91:15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
4. THE DOWNFALL OF EVIL
And as you remain faithful, God will not only deliver you, but he will use you and your rescue to bring about the downfall of evil in people’s lives.
Take a look at what he did in Daniel’s day....
DA 6:24 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.
DA 6:25 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land:
"May you prosper greatly!
DA 6:26 "I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. "For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.
DA 6:27 He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions."
DA 6:28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
As you remain faithful to God through life, you become a beacon of God’s goodness and power. Your life can be a powerful influence in the lives of those around you – like Daniel was to king Darius.
CONCLUSION
I don’t know if it was obvious to you, but there is an incredible similarity between this experience of Daniel and Jesus’ last days on earth.
1. The plot of the administrators and Satraps and the plot of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
2. The decree of Darius and the decree of Pilot - “I find no cause for a charge against this man.”
3. The devotion of Daniel (His prayer in his room) and the devotion of Christ (His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane). Out of love for God they were able to face even death!
4. The Lord’s deliverance of Daniel from the Lion’s den and the deliverance of Jesus from the tomb.
5. The downfall of evil in the life of Darius and in the destruction of the agents of evil. And because of Christ, the downfall of evil in the lives of the saved and the “yet-to-be saved” and the ultimate destruction of Satan and his agents of evil.
There is one difference between our situation and Daniel’s. Daniel lived before Christ. His hope looked forward to a Saviour who was yet to come.
Our faith, on the other hand, looks back to the cross. Our faith is based on the very real historical fact of the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So when we risk all for our faith we do it based on the firm evidence that God is powerful to raise us even from the dead.
The point is this, just as Daniel remained faithful and was saved; just as Christ remained faithful and was saved - so when you remain faithful, God will take care of you. If the Lord can save Daniel from a pit of Lions - more than that – if God can raise Jesus to life, then he is infinitely more than able to see you through whatever you may be facing today.
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