Speaker 1: Welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. I'm so glad you're here. Today,
Speaker 1: we're going to continue our series called Unshakable. Rick is
Speaker 1: taking us through the Book of Daniel and that so
Speaker 1: we'll be equipped to handle whatever curveball life throws at us,
Speaker 1: even the most difficult trials. Let's join Rick right now
Speaker 1: for a very important message. It's the final part called
Speaker 1: will You Stand Strong for God?
Speaker 2: Publicly number three. Standing for God gives God an opportunity
Speaker 2: to do a miracle. The truth is most people have
Speaker 2: never seen an absolute, true miracle in their life, and
Speaker 2: the reason why is because they never put themselves out
Speaker 2: on a limb. Never be afraid to go out on
Speaker 2: a limb. That's where the fruit is. Never be afraid
Speaker 2: to rock the boat. If Christ is your captain, you'll
Speaker 2: never see miracles until you stay and you walk on
Speaker 2: the water. You got to jump out of the boat
Speaker 2: to walk on water. When you stand for God at work,
Speaker 2: at school, with a neighbor with a skeptic when every
Speaker 2: time you do that, it gives God an opportunity to
Speaker 2: do a miracle. Now, if you live a life of safety,
Speaker 2: you play it safe, nothing ventured, nothing, You will never
Speaker 2: see any miracles in your life. I've seen a lot
Speaker 2: of miracles in my life because I've done enormously outrageous things.
Speaker 2: I will often paint myself into a corner and then say, God,
Speaker 2: how are we going to get out of this? You
Speaker 2: put yourself in a position where you trust God so much.
Speaker 2: Of God, I'm absolutely bound to fail unless you bail
Speaker 2: me out. I'm so far out there right now. God,
Speaker 2: There's no way this is going to happen unless you
Speaker 2: bail me out. God. You never know that God can
Speaker 2: solve your problems if you never have any problems. You
Speaker 2: never know that God can do a miracle in your life,
Speaker 2: if you never risk anything, if you never have any
Speaker 2: effort to say, Okay, God, I'm willing to do what's unpopular,
Speaker 2: and in this case, what was illegal, because I know
Speaker 2: what you said to do. Of course, Daniel saw a
Speaker 2: miracle because he gave God that opportunity. He went home
Speaker 2: through the doors open. So I'm going to just keep
Speaker 2: praying like I've always been praying. I'm not going to
Speaker 2: hide it. I'm not gonna wimp out. I'm not going
Speaker 2: to fake it. I'm just going to do it right
Speaker 2: in the open. I'm gonna bow my head at lunch
Speaker 2: in front of everybody else, and I'm gonna pray. I
Speaker 2: don't care what they think. And he allows God to
Speaker 2: do a miracle. Now here's what happens, verse nineteen to
Speaker 2: twenty three. It says this, at first light of dawn,
Speaker 2: the king got up. See they caught Daniel and they
Speaker 2: throw him into the pit. Okay, so he's thrown into
Speaker 2: the pit. And the Bible says, I don't have time
Speaker 2: to go into this that when Darius heard that Daniel
Speaker 2: was the guy who had broken this law, he was heartbroken.
Speaker 2: In fact, you can go back and read this chapter,
Speaker 2: because he loved Daniel. It's Darius the king. And in fact,
Speaker 2: he goes, you know, this is the guy who's gonna
Speaker 2: put in charge of the entire kingdom. And now, because
Speaker 2: of my stupid ego, I signed a dumb law because
Speaker 2: of some political wonks who got me to sign it.
Speaker 2: And now my favorite guy in the entire kingdom is
Speaker 2: going to be eaten by lions. And if you'll go
Speaker 2: read the passage, it says he couldn't sleep that night.
Speaker 2: He says he couldn't eat, he couldn't he fasted and said,
Speaker 2: he took no entertainment, so he didn't watch TV. And
Speaker 2: so this guy, his stomach's churning because he knows that
Speaker 2: Daniel is a true believer, and although he's not one,
Speaker 2: he knows he's seen Daniel work and seeing Daniel have
Speaker 2: miracles in his life. And when he hears Daniel's throwing
Speaker 2: into a into the lions den, into the pit, he
Speaker 2: just can't sleep. He stays up all night, doesn't eat,
Speaker 2: doesn't entertainment. He's nervous. And so the next morning, at
Speaker 2: the light of first dawn, here's where the story picks up.
Speaker 2: At the light of first dawn, the king got up
Speaker 2: and hurried to the pit filled with lions, and when
Speaker 2: he got there, he called out to Daniel in an
Speaker 2: anguished voice, Daniel, Daniel, servant of the Living God. Has
Speaker 2: your God, whom you serve conneally, not him? Has your God,
Speaker 2: whom you serve condellally, been able to rescue you from
Speaker 2: the lions? Legitimate question? He's worried about it, and this
Speaker 2: is what it says. Going next verse. Daniel answered, O King,
Speaker 2: my God sent his angel and he shut the mouths
Speaker 2: of the lions, and they have not hurt me. At
Speaker 2: all because God knew I've done nothing against or you,
Speaker 2: o King. The King was overjoyed and gave orders to
Speaker 2: lift Daniel out of the pit. Are you still in
Speaker 2: the pit? Have you been lifted out? The King was overjoyed,
Speaker 2: gave orders to lift Daniel out of the pit. And
Speaker 2: when Daniel was lifted out, there was not a single
Speaker 2: scratch on his body because he had trusted God. That's
Speaker 2: friends called miracle. There are a lot of very famous paintings. Michelangelo,
Speaker 2: Raphael and so many other great painters have painted Daniel
Speaker 2: in the Lions then because of this historic moment, and
Speaker 2: it says he came out without a scratch on his body.
Speaker 2: Has God ever rescued you out of a pit? Well, first,
Speaker 2: you got to take a risk to end up in
Speaker 2: a pit, I mean have you're in a pit of
Speaker 2: your own making. But you praise God in that pit?
Speaker 2: He said, you know, he says, God came to my rescue,
Speaker 2: and so he gave God an opportunity to do a miracle.
Speaker 2: And the King's overjoyed. So standing for God's a victory
Speaker 2: over fear. It builds my faith in character. It gives
Speaker 2: God an opportunity to do miracle. Number four, it encourages
Speaker 2: other believers to stand up. When you stand up for
Speaker 2: God at work or on the field, playing the game,
Speaker 2: or anywhere else, it encourages other believers they see your courage.
Speaker 2: You know how courage is contagious. Do you ever see
Speaker 2: brave heart? I mean, when he's brave, everybody else is brave.
Speaker 2: You got a cowardly leader. Everybody else is a coward
Speaker 2: everybody else wants to win about courage is contagious. When
Speaker 2: you step out for God and you go, I'm in,
Speaker 2: I'll do this, I'll speak up for God at work,
Speaker 2: you know what, other people start coming out of the shadows.
Speaker 2: Paul says this in Philippians one fourteen. Because of what
Speaker 2: I've been through, many Christians here have gained confidence and
Speaker 2: they've become more bold in telling others about Christ. Your
Speaker 2: boldness will encourage other people to be bold. That's a benefit.
Speaker 2: Number five not only is an encouragement to other believers
Speaker 2: when you stand up for God. Number five, it's a
Speaker 2: powerful example to unbelievers. In fact, I honestly think it
Speaker 2: may be this and how you handle pain may be
Speaker 2: your two greatest witnesses, your two greatest testimonies. Your two
Speaker 2: greatest examples to your unbelieving friends, neighbors, relatives, coworkers. How
Speaker 2: you handle pain and how you handle rejection, I think
Speaker 2: may be your two most greatest witnesses. It's a powerful
Speaker 2: example to believers when you say, sorry, I can't do this.
Speaker 2: My conscience will not allow me to this. I will
Speaker 2: not violate my conscience. I cannot do everybody's doing it,
Speaker 2: but I can't and I won't because my God says,
Speaker 2: don't do it. It's a powerful example unbelievers. Let me
Speaker 2: just give you free real quick. Here these verses. We
Speaker 2: see it in the lives of Peter and John, Acts
Speaker 2: four thirteen. It says when the council they're in Jerusalem
Speaker 2: saw the boldness of Peter and John, they were amazed
Speaker 2: at their boldness, their courage, since they knew they're just
Speaker 2: ordinary men. But they had been with Jesus. You know
Speaker 2: where you get your courage being with Jesus. You stand
Speaker 2: strong when you kneel often. The more time you spend
Speaker 2: with Jesus, the stronger you're going to be. You stand
Speaker 2: strong when you kneel often. They were ordinary men. These
Speaker 2: Peter and John were not some kind of intellectual, towering
Speaker 2: giants or super talented, you know, superstars. They're just they're fishermen,
Speaker 2: normal people, and the enemy. He looks at me, goes,
Speaker 2: you guys are incredibly bold for just being ordinary guys.
Speaker 2: It's obvious you've been with Jesus. I can't think of
Speaker 2: a finer thing to be said about you that it worked.
Speaker 2: People go, she's just a normal person. He's just a
Speaker 2: normal person. I don't know how where they get that boldness.
Speaker 2: I certainly wouldn't have that kind of boldness. They've obviously
Speaker 2: been with Jesus. The more time he's been with Jesus,
Speaker 2: the more courage you're gonna have. Here's an example in Darius.
Speaker 2: And actually because of this incident, this pagan king becomes
Speaker 2: a believer. It's the second guy that that Daniel has
Speaker 2: led to faith in God. Daniel, Chapter six, verse twenty five.
Speaker 2: Here on the screen it says, So after he saw
Speaker 2: all of this happen, it says, then King Darius, since
Speaker 2: this proclama to every nation, race language on earth, I
Speaker 2: decree that the God of Daniel is to be honored
Speaker 2: and worshiped in every part of my kingdom, For he
Speaker 2: is the living God. Can you believe in unbelievers rightness.
Speaker 2: He stepped across the line. He is the living God,
Speaker 2: the one who endures forever. His kingdom will outlast all
Speaker 2: human kingdoms. Whoa because Daniel was afraid, No, because Daniel
Speaker 2: was confident, Daniel was secure, Daniel was fearless. Daniel was
Speaker 2: willing to go to the pit. He said, he is
Speaker 2: the one who endures forever. His kingdom will outlast all
Speaker 2: the others. And here's what the rest of that verse says.
Speaker 2: He is a god who rescues and saves. He's still
Speaker 2: doing that today, rescuing people and saving people. And he
Speaker 2: does miracles, just as you rescued Daniel from the power
Speaker 2: of the lions. So Daniel continued to be successful during
Speaker 2: the reign of King Darius, and then in the following
Speaker 2: reign of Cyrus the Persian. The guy just keeps going
Speaker 2: whine because he stands firm, stands strong, He will not
Speaker 2: wimp out, and as a result, a king comes to God.
Speaker 2: Wouldn't you like that to happen in your life, that
Speaker 2: your boss came to Christ because you stood strong. What
Speaker 2: an amazing story. Let me give you one more example.
Speaker 2: The Bible says in Matthew too. After Jesus was born
Speaker 2: in Bethlehem, wise men from the east. Do you know
Speaker 2: where that is? It's the babylon in Persian Empire. The
Speaker 2: wise men came from Iraq and Iran, from Babylon and Persia.
Speaker 2: Wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, asking where
Speaker 2: is the one who's been born King of the Jews.
Speaker 2: We saw his star from the east and have come
Speaker 2: to worship him. Now leave that up there for a minute.
Speaker 2: Let me just give you a couple of questions about this.
Speaker 2: How in the world do a bunch of pagan wise
Speaker 2: men in they're not Jews. How in the world did
Speaker 2: they know the prophecy of the Messiah? How in the
Speaker 2: world do they know the King of the Jews is
Speaker 2: to be born and their star is a sign. How
Speaker 2: in the world would they even know that? These guys
Speaker 2: are pagan magi, they're like astrologers, they're from Iraq and Iran,
Speaker 2: they're Babylonians and their Persians. Why did the wise men
Speaker 2: show up at jesus birth because of Daniel, Because eighteen
Speaker 2: generations earlier a guy stood for God in a pagan culture,
Speaker 2: and he prayed in the open, and he spoke about
Speaker 2: God and the open and even led too of the
Speaker 2: emperors to faith in God. God, and both those emperors
Speaker 2: proclaimed gods. Daniel's God is the real God. And so
Speaker 2: for his eighty ended up being eighty five years. His writings,
Speaker 2: his faith, his testimony was known throughout Babylon and throughout Persia,
Speaker 2: Iraq and Iran, and eighteen generations later guys are showing
Speaker 2: up in Jesus birth. That's why the wise men were
Speaker 2: at Christmas because of Daniel. That is the long term
Speaker 2: impact of standing for Christ. It's not only a model
Speaker 2: for your children and your grandchildren and great grandchildren and
Speaker 2: future generations could talk about how you stood up in
Speaker 2: a culture that was going pagan, but you stood up.
Speaker 2: You had the guts and the character. They said, hmm,
Speaker 2: I'll get on my knees and stand strong. And generations later,
Speaker 2: not just Christians, not just believers, Pagans knew that the
Speaker 2: Messiah was gonna be born, and they show up when
Speaker 2: they see the star because of this guy. That is
Speaker 2: the power of a sole, single person who will say
Speaker 2: I will not bend, I will stand firm for God.
Speaker 2: All right, there's one more. I just want you to
Speaker 2: remember these six benefits. Okay, go home, put them on
Speaker 2: your frigerate. Here's the sixth one. Standing strong for God
Speaker 2: will be rewarded in eternity. Standing strong for God will
Speaker 2: be rewarded in eternity. Jesus promised it. And those rewards
Speaker 2: are going to last forever and ever and ever and
Speaker 2: ever ever. Your fear is going to last about ten
Speaker 2: seconds or maybe at the most p a few minutes
Speaker 2: when you have that count encounter. But when you do
Speaker 2: the right thing, the fear subsides, but the rewards go
Speaker 2: on for trillions and trillions and trillions of years. Jesus
Speaker 2: said this in the Discernment on the Mount Matthew five,
Speaker 2: consider yourself blessed. If people put you down or throw
Speaker 2: you out or speak lies about you because of me.
Speaker 2: Notice he doesn't say people put you down or throw
Speaker 2: you out because you're an idiot, or because you're rude
Speaker 2: and impulsive and you're mean and you're obnoxious. A lot
Speaker 2: of Christians are obnoxious. That not because of Jesus. That's
Speaker 2: just because you're obnoxious. Okay, So don't blame all the
Speaker 2: people who don't like you. I can't blame all the
Speaker 2: people who don't like me. On Jesus, because I've got
Speaker 2: plenty to dislike about me. But he says, consider yourself blessed.
Speaker 2: If people put you down, or throw you out, or
Speaker 2: speak lies about you because of me. If that happens,
Speaker 2: be happy knowing that you will be rewarded greatly. Circle
Speaker 2: the word greatly. You will be rewarded greatly in heaven.
Speaker 2: And remember that you're in good company. They did the
Speaker 2: same thing to all my witnesses before you, all the prophets,
Speaker 2: all the spokesmen, all the godly people. For thousands of years,
Speaker 2: since Daniel, for twenty five hundred years, people have been
Speaker 2: getting put down for being a Christian, for being a
Speaker 2: follower of Christ, for being standing firm on moral or
Speaker 2: ethical or truth issues. You'll be rewarded now. Never forget
Speaker 2: these six benefits because they'll help you stand strong. Now,
Speaker 2: I want to kind of wrap it up and ask
Speaker 2: you this question. Are you going to end well? Are
Speaker 2: you going to end strong? In your life? Most people,
Speaker 2: even Christians, do not end their life strong. This is
Speaker 2: a guy who starts his life strong as a teenager.
Speaker 2: He becomes strong in his twenties and thirties. He stays
Speaker 2: strong in his forties and fifties and sixties, and now
Speaker 2: he's ending strong at eighty two years old. He's not
Speaker 2: even finished yet. Because he passes this test, God gives
Speaker 2: him the greatest blessing, and the rest of the book
Speaker 2: we're not going to even cover that part. There are
Speaker 2: the prophecies about how the world is going to end.
Speaker 2: God told this guy, the only guy, how the world
Speaker 2: was going to end, and scholars, Bible scholars have studied
Speaker 2: it ever since. And Daniel made his greatest contribution in
Speaker 2: life at eighty five years of age. I know people
Speaker 2: who start checking out at fifty five, Well, let somebody
Speaker 2: else do the service at church. We've served long enough,
Speaker 2: Well let somebody else do the gave. And we've given
Speaker 2: to five building programs. Well we're just gonna coast. You
Speaker 2: realize that God might have planned your greatest impact at
Speaker 2: eighty five, and for many of you, that's a long
Speaker 2: way off. Still, as I said, the word retirement is
Speaker 2: not in the Bible. I want you to start strong.
Speaker 2: I want you to get strong, I want you to
Speaker 2: stay strong, and I want you to end strong. His
Speaker 2: most important contribution was at eighty five years of age.
Speaker 2: What kept him strong kneeling daily to stand strong conversation
Speaker 2: with God three times a day, every day for eighty
Speaker 2: five years. They're going to make you strong. Wow.
Speaker 1: Such an encouraging message from Rick. And you know what,
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