Tabor Baptist Church

Introduction

• Concluding chapter 6 tonight
• God does not promise to deliver us from our trials but does promise to deliver us in our trial
• Example of Stephen
• Example of James the Martyr
• An instance where God does deliver out of the trial
• Many instances in Scripture where God delivered His people out of difficult circumstances
• E.g. Deliverance from Egypt, David, Joseph, Shadrach/Mechash/Abednego, Paul (2 Cor 1:8-10)
• Sometimes God brings us out of the trial in a remarkable way
• Overview:
• No human help for Daniel
• God's reward of faith
• God's Messages

No human help for Daniel

• Darius was for him, but had signed the law that sealed Daniel's fate
• Darius sought to help him but could do nothing
• Daniel is thrown into the pit of lions and sealed with a boulder
• The pit was sure death - explanation
• God stepped in - nothing can explain this situation but a miracle
• v20 - Darius cried out with a lament for Daniel
• v22 - God sent an angel to shut the lions' mouths
• v23 - No injury was upon his body
• Who was this Angel of the Lord?
• Examples of those He had previously come to
• The great mediator between God and man
• The one who would would day take upon flesh
• No help in man but ever always help in God (and the Angel of the Lord)
• If you are going through a difficult time: your extremity is God's opportunity
• God can bring you out of the situation but He will be with you in it
• 2 Tim 4:10,14-17 - people are abandoning and opposing Paul
• No human help for Paul but help in God - "The Lord stood with me"
• God will stand with us

God's reward of faith

• v23 - no injury on Daniel because he believed in God
• The passage reflects on God (not Daniel's faith)
• The passage does not neglect Daniel's faith
• Heb 11 - the mouth of the lions were stopped through faith
• Faith is not theoretical but active
• Without faith it is impossible to please God
• What faith did Daniel display?
• Saving faith - no
• Acting faith - that God will act in the situation
• To strengthen us
• To deliver us from the situation
• To deliver us through the situation
• Think of the thoughts satan would have spoken to Daniel
• Think of the testing of the disciples in the storm - they had no acting faith, so Jesus rebuked them ("ye, of little faith")
• David had acting faith to face down Goliath
• Do we step out in acting faith?
• Jonathan, Gideon, the people of Israel at the walls of Jericho had acting faith
• Daniel prayed 3 times a day and he had acting faith
• Oh that we would pray in the trials and trust God
• We might need to ask God to help our unbelief
• Noah - built the ark in acting faith
• No injury on Daniel because of acting faith

God's Messages

• God is the living God
• Darius came to see this - cf v20 and v16, v25-27
• You cannot force people to have faith
• A great confession of faith
• Psalm 102:15
• Evil men will not prosper
• It may seem that at times they will - but a day of judgment is coming
• Often there is temporal judgment in this life
• v24 - not a command of the living God but of a despotic King
• Often a response by kings at this time
• Psalm 57:4-6
• People reap what the sow
• God will have His way upon this earth
• A hidden message
• A picture of redemption
• A picture of Jesus Christ - explanation
• Does not all the Bible speak of Jesus - did He not say 'these things speak about Me'

Closing Remarks