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Oct 11, 2020

The Criteria by which to Decide

The Criteria by which to Decide

Passage: Daniel

Speaker: Patrick Lafferty

Series: Of Kings and Kingdoms - Daniel

Few if any of us will ever face a lethal threat from a despotic, Middle-Eastern potentate. But we will all face a moment in which we are forced to make a choice on the basis of what we most fear, which goes hand in hand with what we most desire. What does Daniel surrounded by lions tell us about what we might fear, what we must fear, and why we must most fear that?

Order of Worship

PRE SERVICE: Daniel 6:16 
CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 9:1,9-11
NT READING: Romans 8:31-32a-35-39
MESSAGE
CENTRAL TEXT: Daniel 6:1-28
RESPONSE: Refuge
BENEDICTION: Ephesians 3:20-21
POST SERVICE: Daniel 6:26b-27

Children's LessonsChildren's Activity Packet

Readings & Scripture

PRE SERVICE: Daniel 6:16
16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 9:1,9-11
LEADER: 1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 10 Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
ALL: 11 Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what he has done.

NT READING: Romans 8:31-32a-35-39
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all,
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,“For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

CENTRAL TEXT: Daniel 6:1-28
1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; 2 and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 Then the high officials and the satraps 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. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

6 Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! 7 All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.

10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. 11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. 12 Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 13 Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”

14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. 15 Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”

16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” 17 And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

19 Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up 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. 24 And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

25 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you. 26 I make a decree, that 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 to the end. 27 He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.” 28 So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

RESPONSE: Refuge
ALL: O Lord, Let me dwell in Thy most secret place under Your shadow; where
is safe impenetrable protection.

LEADER: I am entirely dependent upon You for support, counsel, and
consolation. Uphold me by Your Spirit.

ALL: Strengthen me inward for every purpose in life.
Anew each day in the finished work of Christ.

LEADER: Take my body, soul, talents, character, success, family, friends, work, and
future. My very end.

ALL: Take them. They are Yours. I am Yours. Now and forever.

BENEDICTION: Ephesians 3:20-21
LEADER: 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,

ALL: 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.

POST SERVICE: Daniel 6:26b-27
...for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. 27 He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURES:

  • 1 Kings 8:46-51
  • Psalm 146:3-4

ILLUSTRATIONS:

10.11.20 Album

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

  1. What’s the last decision you made that involved fear? Why were you afraid? How did you let the fear affect your decision? What happened next?
  2. What are things we tend to fear at one time, and only later look back and ask why we feared them? What things remain a more enduring fear for us, especially when it comes to decisions that involve those fears?
  3. What are all the reasons Daniel might’ve had reasons for fear when he hears of the royal edict?
  4. If you know the true story of Jeffrey Wigand--or even of the film version of his life (which did take license)--what fears entered into his decisions? What did he in the end have to come to most value--and therefore to fear most to violate?
  5. What does he “do” with whatever fears he might’ve felt?
  6. What do we learn about praying--its nature and practice--from how Daniel illustrates it?
  7. What is the fear of God? Why is it something more nuanced than a mere terror of Him?
  8. What did Daniel believe God was capable of doing? (why didn’t he try to escape into the night to avoid his punishment?) How does that compare or contrast with what his three compatriots believed just before being thrown into a furnace? What idea about trusting God can we learn from taking their two expressions of belief together?
  9. How does what we know from Jesus underscore and yet deepen our belief in what Daniel believed about God--and therefore what’s worth “fearing” most?
  10. What frightens you in this season--whether about something you must say or do or change--where the fear of the Lord (love for His will) has both relevance and priority?

QUOTES:

  • Eighty and six years have I served Christ, nor has He ever done me any harm. How, then, could I blaspheme my King who saved Me?....I bless Thee for deigning me worthy of this day and this hour that I may be among Thy martyrs and drink the cup of my Lord Jesus Christ. - Polycarp (martyred 155A.D.)
  • That you finally win the day, there will be little doubt. I only think myself fortunate if the picture will in however small degree bring the thoughts and actions of my fellow man closer to our Lord and Master. - Henry Ossawa-Tanner

BOOKS / DOCS