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Daniel 6:1-28

Daniel was a man of integrity. His enemies couldn’t find anything they could use against him to bring him down from his high position in government.

Daniel’s enemies plotted against him. They appealed to King Darius’ ego to entrap Daniel. A new law was enacted which couldn’t be revoked and it meant that Daniel would be prohibited from praying to YHWH

Daniel remained firm in his faith  and continued to pray to the living God in defiance of the foolish law signed by King Darius which lead to his being thrown to the lions.

But God is sovereign, “He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, [and it was] he who has saved Daniel
from the power of the lions.”

King Darius then sentenced Daniel’s enemies and their families to be cast into the Den of lions.

Among the Persians, all the kindred were involved in the guilt of one culprit. The Mosaic law expressly forbade this (De 24:16; 2Ki 14:6).

The following talk was prepared by Jason Chan, but due to illness was delivered by Andrew Jackson on his behalf.

Acts 12:20-25 Daniel 5:1-31

Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin

There was no greater king than Nebuchadnezzar during the time of his reign, but his earthly kingdom eventually came to an end. His son Belshazzar showed poor judgement as king when he brought the items Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, using them to drink from in defiance of God.

A sign was given to Belshazzar, not in a dream but through a hand, writing  on the plaster. This caused the ‘great’ Belshazzar to soil himself.

Belshazzar condescendingly called for Daniel the exile as a last resort to unlock the mystery of the writing, but only after the Queen mother reminded Belshazzar of Daniels abilities and service to king Nebuchadnezzar.

Belshazzar was without excuse for his actions. He knew how God had dealt with Nebuchadnezzar and should have known better than to show contempt towards the true and living God who is able to humble the proud.

Daniel the servant of YHWH outlived the kingdom of Babylon and its kings. We as servants of the true God are heirs of his eternal kingdom and will also outlive the kingdoms of this world thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who humbled himself for our sakes, so that we might live and reign forever with him.

Daniel 4:1-37

Pride. We all suffer from it.

Nebuchadnezzar learned a valuable lesson. He was king of Babylon between 605BC to 562BC and attributed his great prosperity to his own mighty power.

Nebuchadnezzar had been forewarned in an alarming dream that his kingdom would be removed from his power for a period of time and that he would be made to eat grass like an ox until he had been humbled. This came to pass.

Nebuchadnezzar then repents and his reason is returned to him. He acknowledges and praises the Most High. He has learned that the King of heaven rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will,;for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

What an amazing testimony!

James 4:5b-6
Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Romans 12:3
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Revelation 12:1-17; Daniel 3:1-30

We live in changing times with conflicting standards and the Christian world view is barely tolerated. Christians are being told that we must be tolerant to all world views and idiologies, otherwise we are called out as being the ones who are intolerant bigots.

How did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego handle themselves when they were put in a position of having to choose to either go along with the culture and bow down to idolatrous human belief systems or remain faithful to Almighty God’s commandments?

How will we respond, as followers of Jesus Christ, to the intolerance and persecution from our culture and from those who would seek to shut us down and destroy us?

Where do our convictions lie? Are we prepared to stand firm and trust in God, no matter the consequences, even our own death or the death of those we love?

Do we dare to not conform to Babylon?

Live or die, God will save us!

Matthew 10:28
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Luke 12:4
“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.

We are called to die with Christ that we may live with him, and to suffer with him that we may reign with him. —William Tyndale

Daniel 2:1-49

We all have vivid dreams when we sleep, but quite often we have forgotten the details after waking. What are the chances that someone else would be able to tell us what we dreamed, and then give us the interpretation of the dream.

That’s exactly what King Nebuchadnezzar expected from his magicians and he put them to the test. When they made excuses and failed, they were exposed as charlatans.

No one knows the  future except our omniscient God and he alone has an unblemished record for revealing the future.

Daniel knew that only with the help of the Lord he would be able to reveal and explain Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Daniel and his friends prayed to the LORD and God blessed Daniel and gave him the knowledge and wisdom he needed.

Daniel 1:1-21; 2 Kings 24:1-20

Many young christians seem to lose their faith when they go off to university and are confronted with new temptations and new ideas contrary to  the ways of God. They may even turn completely away from the Lord.

Daniel Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah on the other hand, when removed from Jerusalem amongst the first captives and were taken to Babylon for re education at a young age, resolved to remain faithful and loyal to the God of Israel even though it appeared as though the Babylonian gods had defeated Israel’s God.

The Lord God greatly blessed Daniel and his friends. Daniel remained in a high position through successive governments in that land, lived through the entire exile and saw the eventual return of his people to the promised land.

Let us remain faithful to our great God who is Lord over all kings and governments., and may we hold fast to the gospel which we have received and by which we are being saved: without wavering, until he comes again.

The Beatitudes Part 8

Readings Matthew 5:1-12; Jeremiah 20:1-18

Do we love God and his word so much that we can’t contain it or do we try to bottle it up so we avoid persecution?

Even if we are the most gracious and wise person it is likely we will be reviled for speaking the truth of God’s word to unbelievers.

Are you willing to suffer for something you care for?

Luke 6:26
“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

John 15:20
Remember the word that I said to you: A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

The Beatitudes Part 7

Readings Psalm 85; Matthew 5:1-12

Joseph was a great example of a peacemaker.
His brothers treated him badly and sold him into slavery. When Joseph’s position put him above them, he tested and then forgave his brothers and restored peace to the household of Jacob. Joseph had every reason to be angry, but he chose to be merciful.
Read Genesis 50, Psalm 105:17-22

We are God’s enemies by nature. He is our peacemaker. 

God takes the initiative. He makes peace with us. He provides the sacrifice for our sins. The death of Christ Jesus His Son was the punishment for our sins. Jesus bore the wrath of God on our behalf and his righteousness is transferred to us through repentance and faith in him alone. He transforms us from within by the power of His Spirit and adopts us into His family.

May we be peacemakers like our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The Beatitudes Part 6

Readings Psalm 24:1-10; Matthew 5:1-12

On what grounds can anyone hope to approach God?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. 

The problem is, we all have unclean hands and an impure heart and we can’t just show up in that condition and expect admittance.

We don’t want to approach God when our hearts are unclean and not pure because we will be exposed for who we truly are.

Matthew 15:11
it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”

Isaiah 6:5
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

The only way anyone can dwell in God’s presence is to have purified hearts; cleansed by Jesus.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
In Him, my righteousness, alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Thank God that we can be made clean so that we can approach God through Jesus Christ his Son.

The Beatitudes Part 5

Matthew 5:7
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Read also Hosea 5:11-6:11a

God desires that we be merciful, even to those who may have made bad choices and appear to be reaping what they have sown. If we don’t show mercy to them, why should we expect God to grant us mercy? Do we want and expect God to give justice to others, but be merciful to ourselves? 

[But] God [is] merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. Psalm 84:15