Go a little deeper
Opening Daniel 6, Pastor Keith urges listeners to take responsibility for their faith and give fresh attention to a familiar story. He describes Daniel's rise under Darius and interprets Daniel's exceptional character as integrity in private and public life.
A binding thirty-day decree restricts petitions to the king, but Daniel continues his established routine of prayer and thanksgiving toward Jerusalem. Pastor Keith emphasizes that this habit predates the crisis and applies it to depending on God through danger and uncertainty.
The message closes by turning from Daniel to Jesus. Pastor Keith reads Daniel's deliverance as a signpost: Jesus, like Daniel, was accused and found faultless, was placed in a sealed tomb with a stone over it, and rose again — but unlike Daniel, he will not die again. He then invites listeners to put their faith in Jesus, leading a prayer of repentance and forgiveness, and praying over the church and region.
Take this with you
Integrity is an excellent spirit
In Daniel 6, Pastor Keith interprets Daniel's exceptional character as integrity: consistency between private and public life, with work offered in service to God. He encourages listeners to represent God faithfully wherever they work, as Daniel did when opponents searched unsuccessfully for misconduct.
A holy habit of prayer
In Daniel 6:10, Daniel continues his established pattern of prayer and thanksgiving despite the decree. Pastor Keith emphasizes forming a prayer life before a crisis and continuing to depend on God during it.
Opposition is spiritual, not merely personal
Using Ephesians 6 alongside Daniel's opposition in Daniel 6, Pastor Keith describes conflict as involving spiritual forces beyond the people involved. He also recalls Jesus' teaching about the demands of discipleship and warns that serious faith does not guarantee an easier life.
The story points to Jesus
Pastor Keith reads Daniel 6 as ultimately about Jesus: accused before Pilate yet found faultless, laid in a sealed tomb with a stone rolled over it, and raised on the third day — and unlike Daniel, he will never die again. The invitation is to trust him, not merely to admire Daniel.
The conversation,
in their words.
Transcript from the recording’s captions. Select any timestamp to hear the original audio.
is there anyone that wants to receive a word from the Lord today if you want it God's going to give it to you if you brought your Bibles today I want you to get your Bibles out as we get ready to get into God's word get your Bibles out and I want you to hold it up in the air like you care someone this is not an ordinary book this is the Living Word of God this book is active and alive on the count of three I want all of us to participate in this including those online you could write this in the comments or the chats or wherever you are everyone shout word on the count of three 1 two three word we're getting into God's word so that God's word will get into us if you want to hear a word from God you've got to get into this book some of you are wanting to know what is God doing in my life what does God want for me who is God who am I I'll tell you if you get
into this book it will change your life you know there's a difference when you go into a store with who serves you have you ever been into a small business where you can just tell the difference between an employee and an owner you know where the owner cares about you their customer service is over the top they they want to make sure that you have the best experience so that you come back and bring others with you you you know those stores where you could just tell you must be the owner of this shop now have you ever been in a store where the employee just did not represent the business well like the business is actually good but the employee is bad and you just think to yourself if the only if only the owner knew how bad this employee was he would never let them work here it's just a bad representation of the
business I want to say when it comes to the Christian faith God does not want you to be an employee he wants you to be an owner there are too many people that call themselves Christians they say that they're Christians but yet they just really don't represent Jesus the Christ well like like they go out they tell the world they Christians they might identify as a Christian but in reality it's like is that really the representation of a loving grace giving merciful Living God for many of us we'd say nope fact you hear that often you ask people why they don't go to church oh I've encountered Hypocrites I've encountered mean people in church I've encountered this or I've encountered that and what they're really saying is I tried that but the employees weren't so good but God's not asking you to be an
employee you need to own your faith at some point no matter what your age is you've got to be determined to say do I actually believe what I claim to believe because if I do I'm going to live this out no matter what I'm going to count the cost I'm going to say this is what I'm going after I'm no longer just going to check in and check out and some of us do that God I showed up to church what are you going to do for me God I'll do this for you if you do this for me God if you would just answer this prayer I'll get into this book and start reading it for real you ever bed like that with God I'm serious I will read this book for the first first time I mean I'll read it in one day if you just do what I ask you to do I'm in a hot mess I need you to fix it right now and we start to barter with God like if you really do this then I'll
really do this but if you own this your faith is genuine you go from being employee where you you have an expectation that God's going to do something for you to to owning your faith and when you take the word of God serious you'll understand what God says because who you are in Jesus you start to understand your position in Jesus you have such a god of abundance that invites you into his story that he gives you a great inheritance that you are no longer a spiritual orphan you are a child of God you are no longer an employ you're the entrepreneur you you are Pioneer in A New Path can you believe that God's giving us an opportunity to do what's never been done before in the world he's not asking us to fake it to make it he's not asking you just to put
on a smile he's asking you to live this out that you would understand that because of the grace of God you are the head and not the tail you you are the lender and not the borrower oh hear me my friend today no matter what you've been through you are victorious not the victim you can operate from Victory today you don't need to be fighting for victory Jesus already did that for you it's been done by Jesus so now you've got to operate in who God says you are not who you're are trying to be it releases the pressure off of you God gives you the grace to do what needs to be done and I'll tell you when you get into the word of God you get to see what kind of a God we serve this is the god of Noah he delivered his
family at a time when the world was wiped out we have the god of Abraham who was on a journey to a Promised Land not realizing that he was walking right through it he is the god of Isaac the great provider he is the god of Jacob the great wrestler this is the god of King David this is the god of Elijah this is the god of Elisha Les we forget he is the god of Sarah of Esther of Rahab of Ruth that's my God he's not a distant deity he is eternal and he's present and he will forever be God and today what you're going to learn is he was the god of Danel and the god of Daniel is your God as well if you brought your Bibles turn
to Daniel chapter 6 we come to an incredibly familiar story that even those that don't read the bible really know this story it's Daniel in the den of lions you ever heard this story let me just ask you and challenge you from my heart to yours I'll even go so far to beg you do not let familiarity cause you to miss the word of God just because you think you know a story and just because you've heard a story does not mean you fully have a revelation of the story that you would get to know God even greater through his word for such a time as this we're in the Book of Daniel which is really A playbook for the days that we're living in it is incredibly relevant for what we're living in right now I would argue we're living in Daniel days these are difficult days as Paul
said to Timothy in chapter three of second Timothy the these are are difficult days they're dark days but what we learned in the Book of Daniel is that we can live and have a thriving life wherever we are in the Book of Jeremiah chapter 29 the Prophet Jeremiah was speaking to those who are in Exile and he tells them that God knows the plans he has for them plans for hope he's not a God that holds them back he's a he's a prosperous God but for just a moment they have to experience a discipline a new season a a new life and what the Lord really tells us is that where you are is where you need to thrive God says that in Babylon you you you are to marry you are to build homes that where you're planted you should Bloom too many times we make excuses and we
say you know if things were better if I grew up in a different home if this didn't happen to me if I didn't make this choice or do that if I had more money if only my health was different we we make all these excuses God if you would have done something different I would be a different person but what we see with the Book of Daniel is you can be exactly who God wants you to be wherever you are we pick up where we left off last week so we're going to start today in Daniel chapter 6 last week we learned about Bel Bazar Bazar was young and he was arrogant and while he was partying the MEO Persians were coming in to take over Bazar was a second king over Babylon and and Babylon at the time looked like it was the greatest nation ever to exist but it was in just a
moment Bazar lost his life Babylon fell and the MEO Persians have taken over so now we pick up in Daniel chapter 6 verse1 the Persian Empire is now at this time in history the largest Kingdom in all of the world and at this point probably in all of history Daniel chapter 6 I need you to work with me here because I'm going to try to cover a lot believing that somewhere the Holy Spirit God himself is going to speak to you so can you guys work with me here cuz I'm going to read a lot of texts but this is no school here all right so your neighbor falls asleep you just hit them and say wake up all right all right you go ahead and Shout amen so it wakes them up and it'll help me and it'll help them all right the more shout backs we have the shorter the sermon will be all right so let's let's preach together let's let's do this together Daniel chapter 6
verse one let's dive in it pleased Darius this is the king of the MEO Persian Empire it pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 sat traps to be throughout the whole Kingdom let's just pause for a moment imagine if you will your already a great big nation you take over a new nation now you need to do some reorganization there's a new restructuring what's going to happen a new framework and so what king Darius did is he he included 120 different areas much like in the United States we have a republic of 50 states he made 120 different divisions and of over those each one would have a say trap that would be the equiv in our understanding of our government like a governor uh someone who would oversee that region they would not just be a governor they would be like a judge they would collect the taxes they would oversee this region
so Darius is reorganizing the MEO Persian Empire there's 120 sa traps they're like Governors and over them over the 120 were three High officials of whom Daniel was one to whom these sa traps should give an account so there's going to be three over the 120 who are going to give an account to the three so that the king might suffer no loss now let me just take a Time now I'm going to give some commentar as we read through the text here this may be hard to believe might sound incredibly wild but back in the day politicians who are in charge of taxes could be corrupt when money and politics gets involved it's not always pure and right and the King knew that that many times people would collect the taxes and they
take a little bit off the top and sometimes a little bit more and some were more corrupt than others and so so the king was looking for some honest people to oversee the leaders because there can be corruption in politics particularly when it comes down to taxes and dollars because as we learned last week there's three things that people so often go after that's money sex and power and they will not serve you well they are not in themselves evil but the moment you elevate them to be the god of your life they are absolutely terrible Gods so we've got corruption happening even in the largest Nation the most powerful Nation so he puts these threes three in charge of the 120 including Daniel then verse three then this Daniel he became distinguished above all the other high officials and sat traps because an excellent Spirit was in him
and the King planned to set him over the whole Kingdom it wasn't it was not abnormal that when you you would take over a kingdom you would look for the best leaders that you can adopt into your own kingdom as well because you want to thrive so you're looking for the strongest the smartest and at this point Daniel has risen to the occasion he served five Kings of Babylon and as Darius is looking for the greatest leaders he clearly is one this is the second time in two chapters Daniel is described as one with an excellent Spirit what does it mean to have an excellent spirit it's one who has integrity means you are who you claim to be that who you are in private is the same person you are in public that you serve as unto the Lord not as unto man
that you work for God and people are attracted to that they want this because there's honesty there's authenticity there's hard work do you know Law and Order actually comes from God Work comes from God I I know some of us don't like work but there was work even before sin entered the story God worked and caused creation God says you get to work over all this that I give you is a Bountiful Blessing and work is actually a good thing and you know this when you work and you produce something good good but when sin entered the story something changes so many times we don't want to work as under the Lord we just want to clock in or clock out or we get tired or some people work harder than other people and some who work less get more money but Daniel he didn't care what anybody else thought he had an excellent Spirit within him which tells me that you don't have to work for the church to
work for God that God wants you wherever you are to serve him and serve him well we need more teachers School administrators that will represent a good loving great God we don't need people just to run from the schools we need some people to run into the schools we could use some more business owners to not boast in themselves but boast in the Lord we could use some more government leaders that are Godly men and godly women it doesn't matter what field you're in you might be in the medical field you might be in the entertainment industry you you might be an athlete you might be a barista whatever you do you can do it unto the Lord that where you are God has planted you he has put you and now is time to bloom now it's time for you to
take god seriously and it's in this place that Daniel is known for this verse four continues in the text Daniel 6 then the high officials the high officials that were really underneath them and the SAT traps they sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault because he was faithful and no error or fault was found in him let's take a pause for just a moment this is going to be really hard to believe but back in the ancient days what political leaders would do is they would try to dig up dirt on the other person to get them out of office I know it sounds so silly it sounds so wrong it sounds so
Antiquated but that's what they would do back in the day they would try to dig up some dirt to say they can't be in this position they would try to let the whole land know this is how bad they are can you believe that actually happens that they wouldn't try to prove through their excellent Spirit why they should be in a position they wouldn't prove through their character or their track record but instead the only way they would try to get a piece of office is if they could find some piece of trash about somebody else that's what was happening here in Daniel chapter 6 I I know it's hard to believe but verse 5 tells us then these men who couldn't find anything on Daniel there was no dirt they said we shall not find any ground for complaint get against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God so
here you've got Daniel a person of character even in an evil World come on somebody the word of God speaks to our hearts that you don't have to live like everyone else you can be a light in a dark place you can live for the Lord even in an evil world you can have character even if no one else does you can be in Babylon or you can be in Persia which by the way Babylon is modern day Iraq Persia we can trace all the way back to or Persia we can trace all the way to current Day Iran Iranians and Kurds Trace all the way back to the P Persians now we can look and say well if you're born into this environment then you're a product of your environment but Daniel he taught us you can serve God he was opposed to the influence of his age but he didn't act
like everyone else he did not protest he did not revile others he was willing to worship the one true God when no one else did but here's a key principle you'll see in the scriptures over and over from the very beginning starting with Adam and Eve and even to you today is that when you have faith in God you become an enemy of Satan th this is the truth why did the devil go after Adam and Eve they were friends of God God blessed them he loved them and when God raises you up the enemy is going to try to bring you down amen when you decide to take god seriously it doesn't get easier it actually gets more difficult so many of us think that if God's on my side it's going to be easy God's going to make a way but if you're
determined to take your faith serious Jesus even said it like this you need to count the cost so many times we count the cost of what it cost to build a house or to do something in our lives we count the cost and Jesus said you need to do that when it comes to your faith because he said if you're going to follow me Jesus said you need to pick up your cross daily and follow me now the cross is a torture device that leads to death so every day you've got to be willing to die to yourself to be alive in Jesus Christ every day you got to realize it's not about me and what I want I want what God wants every day you you got to realize that even if I suffer I'm going to suffer unto the Lord I'm not going to complain I'm not going to Grumble I'm not going to deny my faith because things got difficult but I'm going to give my heart to God I realize it might
not sound like a great sales pitch to be a Christian but if you really want to follow Jesus Christ it's no longer about you it's Christ in you we need some owners of our faith that that we don't just blend and blur the American dream with the Christian dream the Christian dream is I get to spend forever with God and it's going to be far superior and better than I can imagine so although I might be in the world I'm not of the world so I'm going to ask God just for a little bit of Heaven now so I would understand how great Heaven's going to be but I'm not in heaven so I got to quit wondering why did things happen the way they happened well when God raises you up the enemy will seek to bring you down and the Enemy by the way will typically use other people your battle is not against
other people you can learn this if you'd study Ephesians chapter 6 which says our battle is not against flesh and blood your battle is not your coworker your battle is not your spouse your battle is not your parents your battle is not your kids we battle not against flesh and blood the Bible says this is a real spiritual battle there's the enemy of your soul this is against principalities but who does Satan and an army of demons use other people and if this is new to you the more you walk with the Lord the more you mature the more you understand this you'll get a revelation of things that were happening even in your youth down to your childhood if you've ever had evil happen to you it's because there's a real enemy may I just encourage you today hear the word of the Lord Jesus says out of his mouth here's the promise I will be with you always to the end of the age I will never leave you and I will never
forsake you so if you're going through something difficult God has not left you he's not absent from you he's going through it with you he's a good God he is not a distant deity he was with Daniel even though now just like what happened to his three friends who are probably dead at this point they were maliciously accused for not bowing down to a golden idol now Daniel's being accused because of his faith look at verse six these same high officials and the SAT traps they came by agreement to the king and they said oh King Darius live forever all everyone shout all all verse 7 says all the high officials of the Kingdom the prefects and the SAT traps the counselors the governors we've
all agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction that whoever makes petition to any God or man for 30 days except to you oh King shall be cast into the Den of Lions now hear me out here this is going to be really hard to believe back in the day politicians would twist the truth I know it seems hard to believe it just really hard to believe they it sounded like it was truth they said all of us have agreed we know it's not all of them Daniel who's over them is not in the all so when a politician sounds like he's saying the truth when a politician sounds like she's telling the truth when a politician sounds like she's saying
something true it might have some truth in it but I want to caution you sometimes it's not the whole truth it can be a twisting of the truth I know I can't believe they would do that back in the day but they come before the king and they say you you you need to establish a law that no one worships anyone or anything but you for 30 days now King verse 8 now King establish the injunction and sign the document so that it cannot be changed according to the law of the mes and the Persians which cannot be revoked therefore King Darius he signed the document and injunction now what's happening here this seems a little strange like what you're going to be God for 30 days not why not God for life well let's let's look what's happening here this government is expanding and when the government expands it it's
really complicated and as it's as there's complications and layers they came in favor of the king even though they're really trying to bring Daniel down and what they're saying to the king is by the way we have all these Babylonians now who worship their gods and they have a whole slew of gods we looked at some of them in the first five chapters they have the god of Nebo they have the god of Shaq they have the God all these different gods so since they're used to doing things their way what we should do for 30 days to establish a new rhythm is make you Superior over all the gods only 30 days and then they'll get in a new Rhythm they'll see who you are superior as Emperor over this land and everything will be good and the King's like that totally makes sense let's just sign it right now and by the way the way that the Persians work their law that if you broke a law you would be punished that day so the consequence for whatever
penalty that you you you have to pay actually happens the day that that you committed the crime if you were caught then that day You' be penalized I mean it was to show the brute force of this government as we see here I want to just make sure that you understand that not every law that's enacted is good I know that's hard to believe but back in the day they would actually establish laws that we look back on now that we say that's kind of crazy that's weird weird why would they do that may I just say sometimes we do crazy things that it comes out of a good intention it comes out of being right but there's only one law that cannot and will not ever change and that is God's law man will mess things up have you ever looked at crazy
laws there's some crazy laws out there that just have never been changed they were put into place for one reason or another probably someone did something crazy so they enacted a crazy law because of the craziness you guys know what I'm talking about well let me let me share some with you here's how this is going to work this is going to be a game right in the middle of the sermon I want you to raise your hand if you moved here from out of state you moved here from out of state all right what state did you move from Sir California all right any other Californians come let's go all right Everybody's scared in Oregon like 90% of the church just raised their hands but let me tell you you're you're in a good place here California's got all kinds of wacky laws because there's a lot of people in that land I actually know some of them because I studied them so much this week you know there's one law this is one of my my favorite ones it's actually in Long Beach you guys know Long Beach the land of country folk get this there's a real law in Long
Beach that says it's illegal to wear cowboy boots unless you own at least two cows that's why Tupac never wore cowboy boots that's a true story let me let me just look at some others I mean there there's some crazy stuff in Loi California anybody ever been to Loi California you don't want to get stuck there it's illegal in Loi California not only to own Silly String but to sell Silly String that stuff is dangerous all right anybody from outside of California listen anybody like from outside where did you move from Alaska I don't know if there's any crazy laws in Alaska yep there are
some and in Alaska this is a true story about Alaska kangaroos kangaroos in Alaska are not allowed to be in barber shops at any time why that law got created there's got to be a story there here's one that makes more sense in Alaska in Alaska it's illegal to whisper in someone's ear while they're in moose hunting you look good while you're hunting there's just crazy laws I can go on you you want to get distracted with rabbit trails and go down this for a few hours just start googling like goofy laws in the United States and Oregon's no exception you know in Marian County I don't know where Marian County is but Maran County in Oregon Salem a Salem no
wonder this is weird in Marian County get this this has to do with me everyone ministers may not eat garlic or onions before they preach a sermon it's illegal look that up I told my wife that and she said that's not true I had to prove it to her I had to go some some lawyer law it's still a law today I could not preach in Marian County that that that's a true story in Illinois just one last one about ministers in Illinois a pastor a pastor may not cross state lines with alcohol without proving his license that he's a minister his credentials and you wonder well why would that be uh because it's it's for the Lord's Supper communion everybody that's why but as long as you can prove that you're a minister you can have whatever alcohol you want so anyways there's some really dumb laws out there
isn't that true some dumb laws so I said got to say here this is a silly law you're going to be God for 30 days and there cannot be any other gods that are served for 30 days and if they serve that God then they'll be thrown into the lion's den when Daniel he heard about this verse 10 when Daniel knew that the document had been signed here's what he did he did not protest and get all his buddies to protest with them he did not compromise Daniel he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open to towards Jerusalem he got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he had done previously the reason I want you to bring your Bibles to church is so
that you can underline stuff you should underline this verse he prayed three times a day as he had done previously this was his holy habit three times a day every single day Daniel would pray breakfast lunch dinner not before a meal like it was just this religious ritual this was his holy habit he believed in God so much so that he would Point his prayers towards Jerusalem and say that is the city of Zion that's the place where the temple was built that's the dwelling place of God that's the place of God's promises and although it might be in Ruins right now my God has redeemed before I am believing over this place and I may not be there right now but God I give you thanks that you're going to do something good about this God I give you thanks right now that you're always good God I give you thanks that we're not dependent on the governments of this world but God I give
you thanks for who you are sovereign and God over all that's what he did three times a day now Daniel at this point in the story although it's only chapter 6 he's 86 years old he entered into Babylon at the age of 16 years old this must have been his habit before he got into Babylon as he was raised in a Jewish household the scriptures tell us in the Book of Psalms verse 55 uh chapter 55: 16-18 but I call to God the psalmist writes but but I call to God and the Lord will save me evening morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan and he hears my voice he redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage for many are AR raid and against me listen listen listen the Jewish people they they still to this day many have a habit of praying three
times a day many believe the disciples did this with Jesus that Jesus himself prayed three times a day morning noon and night and it's not limited to the three times but this is the habit remember when Peter and John were going to the temple in Acts chapter 2 Acts chapter 2 Peter and John are going to the temple and it says it was the noon hour it was a habit could you imagine if the church prayed three times a day if you ever travel to a a an area populated with Muslims they take prayer serious when you go to the airport in Turkey It's a grand airport they've got Gucci and Prada and all these different stores but in almost every store they've got these prayer rugs that you can buy because the Muslims take their prayer so seriously they they lay down their mat doesn't matter where they are and they they pray
and they they believe and they petition in this Daniel Prayed three times a day now imagine if he prayed three times a day in Babylon for 70 years not including his time in Judah where which is where he came from if he prayed three times a day for 70 years that 76,6 times he's prayed 76,6 times he's given thanks this is his habit have you ever ever had a habit you just can't break Daniel's not just going to stop praying because a law was put into place he believed this because it was who he was this wasn't who he was trying to be this wasn't something he was emulating because it's a religious ritual too many times we we try to do religious thing to to make a way in this world andag just say there's no condemnation with that but that's not the way of the Gospel the good news of Jesus you do not need a
rosary to pray to God you do not need eloquent words you not need the right words you do not need to multiply your words over and over you do not need a dream catcher to catch anything negative if you have the blood of Jesus Christ it's everything to cover your life at Journey we've been taken the series through the Book of Daniel and it really really was accidental we've said if you've got anything that's not of God that's getting in the way of you and the Lord bring it and lay it right here at this platform representing the altar of God that you're getting rid of this that you want to be healed of this you want to be set free from this and you just want to allow God to work in your life and we have had people over the last two weeks do just that and if you haven't brought something yet and you know there's something in your home that's stopping you from being fully immersed in surrender determined to do the right things for God bring that and just bring it to this platform there's not only no judgment with that there's Liberation
Jesus quoting the book of Isaiah said that he came to bind the Brokenhearted he came to set the captives free he came to bring sight to the blind some of you have been blind and you've tried to seek the ways of the world for that Liberty that only Jesus can give you and if that's you bring it this week we had Pursuit that on Halloween and and there were books about being psychics or or being a better I am or being all these things that that just sound like the truth but we just burned them up we literally had a barrel outside if if you would go back in time and tell me that I would be a book book burning Pastor I'd be like that sounds a little bit crazy but now I've just got to say unashamedly if you're going to follow Jesus you got to go all in you got to go crazy you got to burn your past you got to get rid of the old like Elisha you got to burn you got to burn the the the the oxen you got to burn your old life
and you got to be who Jesus wants you to be this was who he was 76,6 times my friends that's what's going to change the world when you're prayerful at school when you're prayerful at work when you're prayerful in your home when you're prayerful in this city when we're prayerful over the state listen you don't need to run from the state you need to pray for it we will see some serious change when we're prayerful people but I warn you in the name of of Jesus Christ not everyone's going to celebrate it you might lose your job you might lose your friends you might lose that which is close to you but you know what you're going to gain you're going to gain an inheritance Jesus said what good is it for a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul be determined to be a real disciple
of Jesus will it be easy absolutely not so these these men they came verse 11 they came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and a plea before his god listen that's what you want to be caught doing they were trying to dig up dirt on Daniel and when they showed up he was doing exactly what they thought he would be doing he was praying too many men in this generation will not be caught praying on their knees they're caught doing something they shouldn't be doing with someone they shouldn't be doing it with looking at something they shouldn't be looking at M just say if you're caught doing anything in private it should be pray raise up it's not too late you are not what you used to do you are not what you're going through right now you are who God says you are so break off any
lies of the enemy that you got to go back to what you've been doing make a new holy habit and pray get rid of the old and accept the new in Jesus you will never ever ever ever ever ever in a bazillion years regret praying most people get to the end of life and they say two things I wish I would have prayed more and got the word more I wish I would have prayed more and read my Bible more you don't have to wait one day to say that start right now is anybody going to start this week is anybody going to start praying this week let's go the three of us let's do it let's do it we'll be the Daniel in our days I'm committed we will do this he was caught praying then they came near verse 12 I'm going to paraphrase some of this for the sake of time they came near and said before the king concerning the injunction hey oh King didn't you make a
law saying you could couldn't pray to anybody but you look at verse 13 then they answered and said guess what they answered and said before the King Daniel who is one of the Exiles from Judah he pays no attention to you oh King let me just tell you sometimes politicians will not have your best interest in mine that's not true Daniel does care about the king we'll learn that in just a few verses I know it's hard to believe but the Bible is relentlessly real they say Daniel doesn't pay attention to you oh King to that that injunction the law that you've signed but he makes his petition three times a day then the King when he heard these words verse 14 the king he heard this he was much distressed and he set his mind to deliver Daniel here's what the king did he got all his lawyers and he says is there any loophole to this
law is there anything we can do that even happens today there are laws that that that people choose to still be obedient to the law rather than to the moral righteousness of what God wants and the king is like it's a law what am I going to do I don't want to kill Daniel I like Daniel he's the most honest person I have but all these men came against Daniel verse1 15 says in verse 16 then the king he could do nothing about it he commanded and Daniel was brought and cast into the Den of Lions the king declared to Daniel may your God whom you serve continually continually deliver you and a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den and the King sealed it with his own signant with the signant of his Lords that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel and the King he he wasn't happy about this says verse 18 he went to his Palace and he spent the night fasting he
couldn't eat no diversions were brought to him and sleep fled from him I I want to just speak a spiritual truth into your life from The Book of Daniel all of us at some point going to end up in a den this was a pit it was a cave so when a rock was put over it no light would come in it's a dark place at some point you're going to end up in a pit the Psalms speak of this that Lord you Lifted Me Out of the my clay you Lifted Me from the pit like when I was at my lowest God doesn't give up on you he actually meets you in that place and one day you're going to face uncertainty one day you're going to face something you're afraid of one day you're going to face death and you've got to be determined am I going to fear what's in front of me or am I going to do what I know what to do which is prayer and what's interesting in this story what
got Daniel into the pit is what's going to get him out of the pit prayer but if you're not a prayerful person before you get into the pit you won't know what to do in the pit and as a pastor I see too many people who are fretting what they're going through because they weren't praying before they got into the pit and now they're facing lions and people are saying things they're listening to the lies of the enemy and they don't realize this is a spiritual war you're already Victorious you don't need to fight for this but if you don't know that before you go into the pit you won't know that in the pit Peter tells us that the devil he's like a lion he's not a true lion but he acts like a lion and he's prowling around looking for someone to devour he's the devil is looking for you to devour you but we've got a God that shuts the mouths of lions you do not need to fear any evil
even if you walk through the valley of the shadow of death whatever you're walking through you've got a God that doesn't leave you he's with you he's with you I've got to recognize that the only thing that's going to get me out of this pit is the Lord this is what Shadrach Meshach and Abednego said to King Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 3 when they fa the fiery furnace for not bowing down they said these words in Daniel 3:1 17- 18 Our God they said our God whom we serve is able to Deliver Us From The Burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of your hand O King but if not Verse 18 says if not be it known to you oh King that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you set up this is the double fisted faith my God
can and will deliver me and if he doesn't I will not serve a false god I will not worship anyone else but the true God just as Paul said to the Philippians if I'm going to live it's for Christ and if I die it's gain so wherever I am my God is with me he's either going to get me out of this or I get to be with him either way I'm going to love him no matter what I'm going through so you're going through something difficult right now let me tell you it's not an obstacle it is the opportunity to witness God work you start declar Dearing the promises of God you can and you will deliver me he did it with Noah he did it with Abraham and Isaac he did it with Jacob he'll do it with you he did it with young King David he'll do it with you he did it with Moses when he was leading the Israelites and there was no way with the Red Sea and we just make this a story today you know how scary that would be an army
coming after you and God parted the Red Sea when they got right up against that Promised Land There was a rage River in the Jordan but God stopped the water he's still a God that delivers today hold to the promises of God share the promises of God pray the promises of God this is no time to sit back and be an employee and say I'm a Christian I Got My Ticket To Heaven it's Jesus this is time to get on your knees and let the world know our God is a living God I'm not fretting anything that's coming our way my God will work no matter what and if it doesn't happen the way I thought it would happen it's a way for God to do what only God can do I'm going to go quickly through this verse 19 at the break of day the king of Rose went in haste to The Den of Lions as he came near to the den verse 20 where Daniel
was he cried out in a tone of Anguish the king declared to Daniel oh Daniel servant of the Living God has your God whom you serve continually been able to deliver you from the Lions then Daniel said yeah no thanks to you no he didn't say that come on son son at 86 he was respectful he was honorable he said oh King live forever come on church we need some more filled with the Holy Spirit to get the fruit of the spirit love joy peace patience kindness goodness goodness gentleness this is God working in your life oh King Live Forever by the way you're going to live forever either in heaven or in Hell either with God or separated from God this is not a an old truth God created
you to live eternally Daniel said to the king verse 21 oh King live forever verse 22 my God sent his Angel come on somebody was that Jesus I don't know maybe could be an angel do do you use your imagination when you read the Bible you should God sent an angel he sent an angel and shut the mouth shut the Lion's mouths and they have not harmed me because I was found blameless before him and also before you oh King I have done no harm oh the King was exceedingly glad verse 23 and he commanded that Daniel be taken out of the den So Daniel was taken up out of the den and no kind of harm was found on him because he had trusted in his God so some would like to say well I bet you the lions were just asleep you know that it was just one night it was it was a whole night they were probably sleeping
it was dark they didn't even see Daniel but look at verse 24 come on here it goes and the King commanded that those men who had maliciously accused the same term that was used against Shadrach Meshach and abedo earlier Daniel those men were brought and they were cast into the Den of Lions not just them they their children and their wives and before they even reached the bottom of the den those Lions must have woken up because they overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces every one of your decisions impact someone else it doesn't matter how young you are how old you are your decisions impact someone else either for good or for bad every one of you this is why and and I don't sound strange at different times until you really start walking with the Lord and getting his word this is why generational curses are real what your parents did to you they pass on to you
so your problems actually your parents problems your grandparents problems and your great-grandparents problems your decisions impact others until you take Jesus so seriously you're set free from those strongholds you are healed and you set a new trajectory in Jesus that's what he does and now the Bible says instead of your sins impacting the first second third and even fourth generation the Bible says when you are blessed it'll impact a thousand Generations your legacy do you guys realize we're talking about Daniel 2 200 years later why because he left a legacy change your legacy do what's right King Darius he wrote to all the peoples verse 25 and he said Peace be multiplied to you verse 26 I make a make a decree in all my Royal
Dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel for he is the Living God enduring forever his kingdom shall never be destroyed and his Dominion shall be of no end verse 27 and 28 he delivers and rescues he works signs and wonders in heaven and on Earth come on this guy sounds like a preacher now not just a king he who served has saved Daniel from the power of the Lions So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian you know your life can go from persecution to prospering and Justus moment what what you're going through right now is not the end of your story Paul wrote to the church and says he who has begun a good work in you he will complete it this is not the end don't
just stay stuck where we are don't just stay in the same place it's time for you to pray out of that pit it's time for you to trust God in his word that no matter what he does in your life whomever sees your life will say that is the Living God that is a real God that's the one that the rest of the world should trust in and hope in the book of Hebrews says these are the heroes of our faith Hebrews chap 11 what more shall we say of all the heroes of our faith we could talk about Gideon oh we could talk about David we could talk about verse 33 those who through faith they conquered kingdoms enforced Justice obtained promises they even by faith stopped the mouths of lines Daniel didn't do it his God Did It God's not putting any pressure on you
to shut the mouths of lions he's just asking you to believe to have faith now if you keep reading this chapter I want to warn you there are some who by faith were s in two they were cut in half they were put to death for their faith and they made it in the Heroes of Faith I want to just ask you today who do you put your faith in is it in yourself is it in someone else or maybe you're uncertain because this story in Daniel chapter 6 I told you it was a familiar one but it's actually not about Daniel at all this story is all about Jesus the whole Bible is actually Jesus's story from Genesis to the Book of Revelation which is the revelation of Jesus Christ this story is about Jesus see there is someone greater than Daniel and his name is Jesus he is fully
man and he is fully God holy God that is Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ did what no man has ever done before he lived a sinless life he did no wrong he came to show us what kind of a loving God we have it was mistaken though because Jesus was brought before Pilate and he was accused but pilate said of him in the Bible I can find no fault in him there was no dirt to dig up on Jesus he was perfect he was holy he was righteous even pilate the governor said this but yet somehow he was still committed to be crucified and the scriptures tell us it's not because of pilate Jesus himself said it's because because he willingly laid down his life he who is without sin
went to the cross and died for your sin once and for all so you would not be defined by whatever was done to you you are set free from that you are liberated you can be healed in your mind today allow God to change your mind it's a transformation and you are forgiven of every single sin you've ever done every thought every word every action you've done Jesus can forgive you he died on the cross for your sins once and for all you don't have to keep trying harder to be loved by God he loved you enough to die for you that you would accept that forgiveness today and when he died on the cross he was buried in a pit in a tomb a cave and the Bible tells us that a stone was rolled over this tomb so no
one could get in it had the Seal of the king but just like Daniel who got out of his pit Jesus on the third day day he rose from the grave he defeated the devil and he defeated death but unlike Daniel who would die again Jesus will never die again he is glorified he is who he claimed to be the resurrection and the life that to all who believe in the name of the Lord Jesus are saved when you put your faith in Jesus you get to see a miracle working God nothing is impossible with God Jesus said nothing with man it's impossible but not with God today I need to ask you have you put your faith in him have you trusted in
the Lord Jesus it's more than just a one-time decision it's from this day forward it won't always be easy but it's worth it God gives you the gift of eternal life that's forever with him he gives you the gift of the spirit of Jesus that is God himself the Holy Spirit and he gives you the love of the father some of you need be loved you weren't loved by a father today you could know that God is with you wherever you've been wherever you are he's with you and if he's with you who could be against you so if you want that today it's yours don't wait for another day or better day because you don't know that you have tomorrow I don't mean any fear in that at all you don't need to fear death but you do not know the hours of your day do you want that
today if so I want to pray with you I want this just to be sacred I realize our time is almost over but I'm just going to ask would you just close your eyes would you try not to move for just a moment I just want to know if that's you this is the most important and the best decision you could ever make if you want to start following Jesus believe in him be forgiven of your sins if that's you today would you just raise up your hand nice and high eyes are closed right now this is between you and the Lord you've got to take this serious yes praise God praise God praise God yes keep your hands up if if you have your hands up you just you alone you can look up at me I just want you guys I want you to see me I'm so proud of you I'm so proud of you I'm so proud of you from this day forward Everything Changes you have an anointing and a
power upon your life is there anyone else anyone else today you're saying yes that's me I I want to give my life to Jesus yes praise God it is never too late it is never too early may I just encourage you by raising your hand You're simply saying God you're rewriting my story from this day forward I want you to be the author God's plans are always good anyone else that's you I want to pray over you in your heart would you just pray pray this prayer you don't even need to say it out loud I'm going to pray it but you just got to be sincere from your heart Lord Jesus I ask you to forgive me of my sins I Repent of my old life and I want new life in you I receive the Holy
Spirit I receive eternal life help me to follow you from this day forward God bless me protect me heal my heart from my past God just as you've forgiven me I release all unforgiveness in your heart right now if someone comes to your mind maybe it's a parent maybe it's an ex someone that's hurt you would you forgive them right now you cannot re receive the fullness of God's joy his peace his love holding on to unforgiveness release it right now Lord forgive me as I forgive others help me to follow you that I would walk in your power and your Authority may we shine like light in this dark world that we live in looking
forward to your second coming my friend if you prayed that prayer you are now born again you're a new creation you're child of God Lord I lift up your church and I ask God may we pray unlike any other generation light a fire in your church Lord may this not be a message today may this be our reality we take you at your word Jesus God I'm praying for some prayer warriors that would change the world some moms and some dads I'm praying for some kids that would say I'm not going to wait for a better day I'm going to live for you Jesus Lord I'm asking that this would be the generation that we get to see you work like no others and I declare over this region Central Oregon shall be saved you are the god that saves and delivers and nothing is impossible with you god start with our hearts We Believe today God
start with us Lord we ask in Jesus mighty name amen and amen amen
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An excellent spirit in a foreign land
In Daniel 6, Pastor Keith interprets Daniel's exceptional character as integrity in public and private. He applies this to serving God faithfully in everyday work, including settings outside the church.
Daniel 6:1-5
- Where in your daily work or routine do you find it easiest to treat faith as a category separate from your Monday?
- How does Pastor Keith apply Daniel's integrity to everyday work?
- How do you respond when you sense others are looking for fault in you?
Spiritual opposition and counting the cost
Using Ephesians 6, Pastor Keith interprets the opposition to Daniel as part of spiritual conflict. He recalls Jesus' teaching about the demands of discipleship and calls listeners to remain faithful through difficulty.
Ephesians 6
- How does naming a conflict as spiritual rather than merely personal change how you respond to it?
- Pastor Keith says taking God seriously does not make life easier. Where do you see that in your own experience?
- What does 'counting the cost' mean for you concretely right now?
Faith in the pit
Daniel is lowered into the den and the king fasts through the night. Pastor Keith reflects on facing pits and uncertainty, and on the 'if not' faith of Daniel's friends in chapter three — trusting God while not presuming the outcome.
Daniel 6:16-20 · Daniel 3:17-18
- What pit are you currently facing, and how has your prayer life before this moment shaped your ability to face it?
- Pastor Keith describes a 'double-fisted faith' that trusts God even if the outcome is not what we hoped. Is that easy or hard for you to say honestly?
- How does the 'if not' posture challenge the way you have prayed about your current situation?
From Daniel to Jesus
Pastor Keith does not leave the story on Daniel but reads it as pointing to Jesus — accused yet faultless, buried behind a sealed stone, and raised. This section moves from reflection toward an invitation to trust Jesus.
Daniel 6:22-23
- What is the difference between admiring Daniel's courage and trusting the one the story points to?
- How does Jesus' resurrection change how you read Daniel's rescue from the den?
Answers from this recording
Start a conversation.
Why does Pastor Keith keep warning against letting a familiar story go flat?+
Early on, Pastor Keith tells the congregation not to let familiarity with the lions' den cause them to miss the word of God, insisting that hearing a story is not the same as having a revelation of it. He frames the book of Daniel as a playbook for hard days and hopes the familiar text becomes a window into knowing God more deeply rather than a story already mastered. The point is not novelty for its own sake but opening a well-known passage of Daniel 6 to fresh attention.
What made Daniel stand out to Darius, according to this message?+
In Daniel 6, Daniel rises to prominence under Darius because of his exceptional character. Pastor Keith interprets this as integrity: consistency between private and public life and work done in service to God. He emphasizes that Daniel's opponents could not find misconduct to use against him.
Why did Daniel keep praying when the law made it dangerous?+
In Daniel 6:10, Daniel continues praying regularly toward Jerusalem despite the decree. Pastor Keith treats this as an established expression of faith rather than a performance or a new crisis response. He suggests the habit began in Daniel's youth and urges listeners to cultivate prayer before difficulties arrive.
How does Pastor Keith describe opposition to faith?+
Pastor Keith interprets the opposition to Daniel in Daniel 6 through Ephesians 6's description of spiritual conflict. He warns that serious faith can bring difficulty, urges listeners to consider the demands of following Jesus, and calls them to remain faithful rather than abandon trust when opposed.
Why does the sermon end by talking about Jesus rather than Daniel?+
Pastor Keith says the story in Daniel 6 is actually not ultimately about Daniel but about Jesus. He draws parallels: Jesus was accused before Pilate yet faultless, was placed in a sealed tomb with a stone rolled over it, and rose on the third day — yet unlike Daniel, he will never die again. The invitation that follows is to put faith in Jesus and receive forgiveness, with prayer over the church and the region. The point is not to leave listeners admiring Daniel's courage.
