“Our Faith & God’s Faithfulness”

INTRO> I recently had to go on a unexpected trip out of town for a few days, my kids don’t really like that. Anytime I or myself have to leave, we make a calendar and allow the kids to mark off the days until we get back. The evening that I got back I was tucking Roman into bed, as I was leaving the room Roman said, “Dad… You came back on the day that you said you would.”

APP> I could preach this famous passage one of two ways today. I could preach it a “moral” way and tell you that Daniel was able to face such a trial because we was a good man and did nothing wrong OR I can preach it a “gospel way”. Meaning, Daniel put his trust in something other than himself, namely, God. The key verses are actually found in v26-37 (READ)

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Big Idea> The faithfulness of God enables us to live faithfully for God.

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CONTEXT> We arrive at the last chapter in out study of the book of Daniel. Daniel himself is almost 80 years of age, you see we can’t make him into something he is not. He has lived years of seeing God’s faithfulness in order to live faithfully. We see now that the Persians rule Babylon, which could be a sermon in an of itself. He has see kings come and go, threats come and go but the faithfulness of God remains. APP> In our text today we will see what the faithfulness of God brings in our lives to live faithfully.

1. God’s faithfulness gives us character in life. v1-5

• • • • v4“sought to find a complaint against Daniel…” We see that Daniel is constantly getting promoted but we also see that with that comes a test of integrity. Some of the Kings men are trying to find fault in him… but they can’t.

*ILL> One of the main things we try to teach our kids is that they will never get in trouble for telling the truth. Consequences may happen by what they have chosen but no punishment.

APP> When you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear.

2) God’s faithfulness gives us convictions for temptations. v4

• • • “…unless we find it in connection with the law of God.” Do you see what they zeroed in on? Daniel’s view of the Word of God! They knew that Daniel’s conviction weren’t of his own accord.

*ILL> This is a picture of my oldest brother John (PIC) He was building a house and found of that the foundation was laid out wrong so they literally had to bust of the entire thing.

APP> The questions is not IF you have convictions. They questions is WHERE do your convictions come from?

3) God’s faithfulness gives us connection through prayer.v10-11

• • • • v10 “he got down on his knees…” I love this. You see Prayer isn’t about us first and foremost, prayer is about God. God is the initiator we are the responders.

“Life is war. That’s not all it is. But it is always that. Our weakness in prayer is owing largely to our neglect of this truth. Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief.” – John Piper

Principles for Prayer:

• • • Pray openly. “opened his windows..”
    • Pray humbly. “got on his knees”
    • Pray consistently. “Like he had done..”
    • Pray thankfully. “gave thanks before God.”

APP> The faithfulness of God will keep us praying faithfully.

4) God’s faithfulness gives us courage in trials.v16-23

• • • v16“Daniel was brought and cast into the lions den…” Do you see the distress that the king is going through? I think It’s safe to say that he loved Daniel. But the writer doesn’t give us any insight into what’s going through Daniels mind.
    • v23 “ no kind harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.” This is pretty crazy isn’t it? This is what makes it’s way into Hebrews 11 “Hall of Faith”. How could Daniel do something like this?

*ILL> Do you remember the Cartoon “Tom and Jerry”? My kids still

like to watch that cartoon! At times when the cat and mouse are chasing each other, Jerry will aggravate Tom and then run off, and he runs to Spike (PIC) the Dog. Jerry has to be pretty brave to pick the fight? Why does he do it? Because he knows Spike will back him up!

APP> The greatness of God is what grants us our courage.

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Big Idea> The faithfulness of God enables us to live faithfully for God.

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APP> You might be asking, where is the faithfulness of God in my life?

Close> As we close we cannot help but notice something about this passage and how it points forward to Jesus….

• • • A unjust trial
    • A Betrayl
    • A Death Sentence
    • A stone rolled in front.
    • A deliverance from death.

“But Jesus is far greater than Daniel. Although Daniel claimed to be “blameless” before God, he was still a sinner. Jesus by contrast, was the sinless son of God.. Daniel faced the possibility of death while Jesus actually died. Daniel rose from a “grave” to only die at a later date; Jesus rose from the grave and lives forever. God “prospered” Daniel during the reign of Darius, but God “highly exalted Jesus and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend.” Sidney Greidnaus, Preaching Christ from Daniel, pg187