WEBVTT 00:04.506 --> 00:04.886 [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you. 00:05.966 --> 00:13.088 [SPEAKER_00]: My name's Nathaniel, for those who haven't met me, and I'm going to read today from two passages from Daniel chapter six. 00:13.648 --> 00:17.409 [SPEAKER_00]: Hopefully the words have come up on the screen or will come up on the screen so you can follow along. 00:19.249 --> 00:27.451 [SPEAKER_00]: It pleased Darius to appoint 120 set traps to rule throughout the kingdom with the three administrators over them. 00:27.912 --> 00:29.092 [SPEAKER_00]: One of whom was Daniel. 00:29.612 --> 00:33.613 [SPEAKER_00]: The set traps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. 00:34.553 --> 00:43.696 [SPEAKER_00]: Now Daniel, so distinguished himself, among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the King planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 00:44.516 --> 00:54.080 [SPEAKER_00]: At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. 00:55.165 --> 01:00.468 [SPEAKER_00]: They could find no corruption in him because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. 01:01.289 --> 01:10.115 [SPEAKER_00]: Finally, these men said, we will never find any basis for charges against this man, Daniel, unless it has something to do with the law of his God. 01:11.202 --> 01:17.964 [SPEAKER_00]: So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the King and said, making Darius live forever. 01:18.604 --> 01:36.970 [SPEAKER_00]: The Royal Administrators, Prefects, satraps, advisors and governors have all agreed that the King should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who praised any God or human being during the next 30 days, except to you, your majesty, shall we throw in into the lion's den. 01:38.101 --> 01:48.231 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, your majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered in accordance with the law of the meets and Persians which cannot be repealed. 01:49.232 --> 01:51.534 [SPEAKER_00]: So King Darius put the decree in writing. 01:52.796 --> 02:01.700 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem. 02:02.440 --> 02:09.183 [SPEAKER_00]: Three times a day, he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 02:09.984 --> 02:15.026 [SPEAKER_00]: Then, these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 02:18.297 --> 02:28.179 [SPEAKER_00]: So the King gave the order and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lion's den, and the King said to Daniel, May your God who you serve continually rescue you. 02:29.279 --> 02:39.561 [SPEAKER_00]: A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the King sealed it with his own signet ring, and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed. 02:40.421 --> 02:43.862 [SPEAKER_00]: Then the King returned to his palace and spent the night without eating, 02:47.069 --> 02:48.050 [SPEAKER_00]: and he could not sleep. 02:49.491 --> 02:53.214 [SPEAKER_00]: At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lion's den. 02:53.834 --> 02:57.457 [SPEAKER_00]: When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguish voice. 02:58.017 --> 03:05.502 [SPEAKER_00]: Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God who you whom you serve continually been able to rescue you from the lions. 03:06.573 --> 03:09.354 [SPEAKER_00]: Daniel answered, may the King live forever. 03:10.235 --> 03:13.676 [SPEAKER_00]: My God sent His angel and He shut the mouths of the lions. 03:14.376 --> 03:17.598 [SPEAKER_00]: They have not hurt me because I was found innocent in His sight. 03:18.258 --> 03:21.179 [SPEAKER_00]: Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty. 03:21.940 --> 03:26.101 [SPEAKER_00]: The King was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. 03:26.662 --> 03:32.344 [SPEAKER_00]: And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him because he had trusted in His God. 03:39.780 --> 03:43.943 [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you, Nathaniel gave him the longest Bible reading in the whole world. 03:44.103 --> 03:44.943 [SPEAKER_01]: Thank you very much. 03:45.003 --> 03:49.486 [SPEAKER_01]: Good morning, my name's Linda Bailey, and part of the ministry team here at one. 03:50.266 --> 03:57.131 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm wondering if you've ever heard the joke, how can you tell someone is vegan? 03:58.651 --> 03:59.372 [SPEAKER_01]: They'll tell you. 04:00.847 --> 04:17.147 [SPEAKER_01]: Now, I am not vegan, but I do know that quite a few people who are vegan are quite offended by this joke because people have found them to be so passionate about a decision that they've made. 04:17.788 --> 04:22.091 [SPEAKER_01]: So passionate about a lifestyle that they have chosen. 04:22.471 --> 04:33.517 [SPEAKER_01]: So passionate about something that they have chosen for their life, that has changed their life in such a way, and that they think would change the whole world. 04:34.578 --> 04:38.640 [SPEAKER_01]: They are so passionate that they want to tell everyone about it. 04:40.483 --> 04:52.748 [SPEAKER_01]: And as I read through Daniel 6, and as I think of this vegan joke, I think as Christians, we should actually take a page out of the vegan book. 04:53.628 --> 05:05.573 [SPEAKER_01]: Not necessarily with your diet, but with their passion and enthusiasm to tell everyone about something that has made a difference in their life. 05:07.328 --> 05:16.558 [SPEAKER_01]: Christians should have jokes made about them, talking about how passionate they are about their faith. 05:17.318 --> 05:19.381 [SPEAKER_01]: How can you tell someone's a Christian? 05:20.121 --> 05:22.264 [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, they'll tell you about it. 05:23.622 --> 05:31.166 [SPEAKER_01]: Instead of telling jokes about other people, this is the joke that should be told about us. 05:31.946 --> 05:44.513 [SPEAKER_01]: And as I read through Daniel 6, I hear his passion and his enthusiasm that everyone knew what he was about and what he believed in. 05:45.553 --> 05:51.778 [SPEAKER_01]: To give you some context, we are going through a series that we are calling resisting Babylon. 05:52.218 --> 05:56.381 [SPEAKER_01]: This is a series that we've been looking at the book of Daniel. 05:56.421 --> 06:02.166 [SPEAKER_01]: Can you believe we're at week six already as we are looking at Daniel chapter six? 06:02.826 --> 06:14.570 [SPEAKER_01]: And to give you a context of what Daniel is talking about all the way back in chapter one, we heard about Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon at the time. 06:14.870 --> 06:20.852 [SPEAKER_01]: He went and he defeated Jerusalem and the Israelites, God's chosen people who were living there. 06:20.872 --> 06:30.415 [SPEAKER_01]: He brought them to Babylon and he chose a number of their young up-and-coming leaders to come and be a part of the court of Babylon. 06:30.815 --> 06:41.563 [SPEAKER_01]: so that they could assimilate to the culture of Babylon and use their gifts and abilities to make Babylon even greater than what it already was. 06:42.324 --> 06:51.090 [SPEAKER_01]: And over these last five or six chapters, we have seen things change years have passed decades of actually passed. 06:51.670 --> 06:53.152 [SPEAKER_01]: Kings have changed. 06:53.995 --> 06:57.238 [SPEAKER_01]: But Daniel has stayed the same. 06:57.958 --> 07:05.925 [SPEAKER_01]: Daniel, as one of the men who was chosen to come into the court, to use his gifts and abilities to make Babylon great. 07:07.205 --> 07:20.428 [SPEAKER_01]: from the very beginning of chapter one, still in chapter six, we see his commitment, we see his faith, we see his confidence in his God over anything else. 07:20.988 --> 07:32.251 [SPEAKER_01]: In fact, in verse five that Nathaniel read to us, it says that the set traps, the administrators, were trying to find a basis to highlight 07:32.611 --> 07:38.336 [SPEAKER_01]: But Daniel was not good enough and should not be in the position that the king wanted to hit him to be in. 07:38.616 --> 07:42.340 [SPEAKER_01]: We'll never find any basis for charges against this man, Daniel. 07:42.700 --> 07:48.765 [SPEAKER_01]: Unless it has something to do with the law of his God, they all knew. 07:49.506 --> 07:51.308 [SPEAKER_01]: They all knew what he stood for. 07:51.548 --> 07:56.792 [SPEAKER_01]: They all knew that he worshiped a different God to what all the others worshiped. 07:56.812 --> 08:04.618 [SPEAKER_01]: Even the King himself, the most powerful man in the whole nation, even he knew about Daniel's faith. 08:04.959 --> 08:15.587 [SPEAKER_01]: When Daniel had spent the night in the lion's den, Darius says, Daniel, servant of the living God has your God whom you serve continually, 08:18.930 --> 08:19.910 [SPEAKER_01]: from the lines. 08:21.371 --> 08:30.434 [SPEAKER_01]: Daniel was so clear in his faith, so incredible at living out his faith that everyone knew about it. 08:30.534 --> 08:35.476 [SPEAKER_01]: It wasn't something that he hid even when it risked his life. 08:36.408 --> 08:43.634 [SPEAKER_01]: In fact, Daniel was doing what God told the people in exile to do through the pot-profit Jeremiah. 08:44.135 --> 08:50.880 [SPEAKER_01]: Jeremiah, at that time, spoke the words of God to the people it says in Jeremiah 29. 08:51.200 --> 08:58.707 [SPEAKER_01]: This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 08:59.477 --> 09:01.418 [SPEAKER_01]: Build houses and settle down. 09:01.858 --> 09:04.619 [SPEAKER_01]: Plant gardens and eat what they produce. 09:05.179 --> 09:07.080 [SPEAKER_01]: Mary and have sons and daughters. 09:07.200 --> 09:13.322 [SPEAKER_01]: Find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage so that they too may have sons and daughters. 09:13.782 --> 09:16.123 [SPEAKER_01]: Increasing number there do not decrease. 09:16.623 --> 09:22.546 [SPEAKER_01]: Also seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I've carried you into exile. 09:23.066 --> 09:24.506 [SPEAKER_01]: Pray to the Lord for it 09:30.345 --> 09:36.515 [SPEAKER_01]: These are incredible words from God, to Daniel and all the excels. 09:38.640 --> 09:51.609 [SPEAKER_01]: acknowledging that they are in foreign territory, but they are to use their gifts and abilities to do their best to be the best people that they can be. 09:52.570 --> 10:00.896 [SPEAKER_01]: And this is an incredible chapter, an incredible word of encouragement for anyone who works outside the church. 10:01.596 --> 10:06.079 [SPEAKER_01]: for anyone who works in what we call, you know, secular environments. 10:06.899 --> 10:10.841 [SPEAKER_01]: If you are working, like Daniel, he was working for the government. 10:11.642 --> 10:17.265 [SPEAKER_01]: And I was trying to think of all the things that Daniel might have had to have dealt with in his role. 10:17.765 --> 10:22.227 [SPEAKER_01]: There would have been people management, conflict resolution. 10:22.788 --> 10:26.330 [SPEAKER_01]: He would have been dealing with budgets and resources. 10:27.270 --> 10:35.917 [SPEAKER_01]: He would have been having to deal with change, management, or any of these things ring in true to maybe what you do in your everyday life. 10:36.958 --> 10:51.811 [SPEAKER_01]: If you work in the corporate setting, if you work in business, if you work in banks, in health care, if you work in education, if you work in your homes, if you work in your neighbourhoods, 10:52.925 --> 11:14.740 [SPEAKER_01]: all of these things that we learn from Daniel that no matter where he was, he stayed true to his faith and he stayed true to the calling that God had on him to be the best that he could be whatever situation that he was in. 11:15.900 --> 11:19.683 [SPEAKER_01]: And even though he was very much within Babylon, 11:21.345 --> 11:29.330 [SPEAKER_01]: He was in Babylon, but he wasn't four Babylon, and it made a significant difference. 11:30.050 --> 11:36.934 [SPEAKER_01]: John Lannick, who has written a book on Daniel that, as a preaching team, we are reading through for this series, says this. 11:37.915 --> 11:42.938 [SPEAKER_01]: Daniel lived in Babylon, and was faithful in the service of its rulers. 11:43.438 --> 11:46.240 [SPEAKER_01]: But the secret of his integrity and faithfulness 11:50.728 --> 12:02.935 [SPEAKER_01]: He lived for another city in the spirit of Abraham in the patriarchs who were looking forward to the city that has foundations whose designer and builder is God. 12:03.655 --> 12:06.977 [SPEAKER_01]: Daniel lived for all that Jerusalem stood for. 12:07.397 --> 12:13.101 [SPEAKER_01]: He knew that the future lay there and not in Babylon. 12:14.218 --> 12:16.500 [SPEAKER_01]: He was committed to Babylon. 12:16.560 --> 12:27.531 [SPEAKER_01]: He gave himself hours, his gifts and his abilities to make it prosper and make it the best place it could be no matter who the king on the throne was. 12:28.571 --> 12:31.815 [SPEAKER_01]: But he had a greater calling. 12:32.517 --> 12:40.442 [SPEAKER_01]: He was in Babylon, but he was four a kingdom that was even greater than the one he lived in. 12:40.923 --> 12:53.051 [SPEAKER_01]: And he would have known about this because for generations and generations, the Israelites have been called to be four a greater kingdom than what they had here on earth. 12:53.732 --> 13:05.931 [SPEAKER_01]: In Exodus 19, we read as the Israelites have been redeemed from slavery, they come across the Red Sea and into the desert towards the Promised Land. 13:06.371 --> 13:08.174 [SPEAKER_01]: This is what God says to them. 13:08.915 --> 13:18.221 [SPEAKER_01]: Now, if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations, you will be my treasured possession. 13:18.781 --> 13:25.566 [SPEAKER_01]: Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. 13:26.046 --> 13:29.028 [SPEAKER_01]: These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites. 13:30.118 --> 13:44.366 [SPEAKER_01]: God has called out the Israelites to be above all things on earth, to be a chosen nation, to stand out, to let others know about their faith in the one true God. 13:44.987 --> 13:53.912 [SPEAKER_01]: So much so that even after Jesus' death and resurrection, this was still the message that His disciples were saying to the early church. 13:54.392 --> 13:57.153 [SPEAKER_01]: In one Peter II, Peter says to the early church, 13:59.915 --> 14:12.245 [SPEAKER_01]: a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special position that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 14:13.926 --> 14:28.298 [SPEAKER_01]: It doesn't matter where you go as you leave this place, to what workplace or household or neighborhood or school or family or friendship circle you go to. 14:29.758 --> 14:50.843 [SPEAKER_01]: You have been called as a special possession of God, a holy nation, a chosen people, a royal priesthood, so that all may know of the greatness of the God that you worship. 14:53.254 --> 14:54.935 [SPEAKER_01]: a royal priesthood. 14:55.515 --> 15:00.617 [SPEAKER_01]: It's a bit of a foreign concept, even for us. 15:00.717 --> 15:04.498 [SPEAKER_01]: I was talking to Tim this week about something we had to put his name on something. 15:04.718 --> 15:07.519 [SPEAKER_01]: He doesn't even like us the highlight that he's a reverend. 15:07.940 --> 15:11.581 [SPEAKER_01]: We kind of downplay things priesthood of all believers. 15:12.101 --> 15:16.363 [SPEAKER_01]: But a priest in the Israelites, people, they were set apart. 15:16.843 --> 15:17.983 [SPEAKER_01]: They looked different. 15:18.003 --> 15:22.265 [SPEAKER_01]: This is a picture of a high priest for the Israelites. 15:22.425 --> 15:25.046 [SPEAKER_01]: You can see they wore different things. 15:26.007 --> 15:29.609 [SPEAKER_01]: They had the royal blue of priesthood. 15:30.269 --> 15:35.152 [SPEAKER_01]: They stood out among even amongst this chosen nation. 15:36.310 --> 15:37.711 [SPEAKER_01]: They would have stand out. 15:38.392 --> 15:46.579 [SPEAKER_01]: And Marty Solomon, who founded the Beamer Discipleship, he speaks about the fourfold role of a priest. 15:47.139 --> 15:51.903 [SPEAKER_01]: The first thing is they are to be God's representative here on earth. 15:52.204 --> 15:55.847 [SPEAKER_01]: They, as they go about, is a reminder for everyone. 15:56.127 --> 16:03.933 [SPEAKER_01]: that God is present, that He is there, that He is there for the people, He is there with the people. 16:04.054 --> 16:08.717 [SPEAKER_01]: They are there to put God on display for everyone to see. 16:09.558 --> 16:19.446 [SPEAKER_01]: And in their role, they're to help the people in their worship, through their sacrifices, they're to help them with their relationship with God and their relationship with others. 16:26.165 --> 16:37.654 [SPEAKER_01]: to the people and to intercede for the people to God and they're there to distribute all the resources equally to make sure everyone has what they need. 16:38.595 --> 16:53.166 [SPEAKER_01]: This priestly role was so important amongst the Israelites to be reminded and the key thing in everything that they did was to put God on display. 16:54.113 --> 17:18.691 [SPEAKER_01]: so that no one would ever forget that God was there, that He was present, that He loved His people, that they were chosen, that they were to be the nation, to show all other nations that God is there, that He is present, that He loves them, that to worship God is the ultimate place for them to be. 17:20.091 --> 17:29.594 [SPEAKER_01]: It might go on to talk about a pressure for the Jewish people and that there are tassels on the corners of each of this shawl. 17:30.474 --> 17:41.437 [SPEAKER_01]: These tassels are a reminder of this Exodus 19 passage that if you keep my covenant, you will be my holy nation. 17:42.561 --> 17:44.222 [SPEAKER_01]: a nation of priests. 17:44.703 --> 17:57.634 [SPEAKER_01]: He goes on to say, and so in every tassel, you have one thread, the color of priesthood, the blue that you saw, that reminds you of your call to be a kingdom of priests. 17:58.274 --> 18:03.479 [SPEAKER_01]: And this tassel has eight threads in it, seven of them white, one of them blue. 18:04.279 --> 18:08.202 [SPEAKER_01]: It's a reminder that if the rest of the nations look like this, 18:09.555 --> 18:12.719 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm supposed to look different. 18:14.961 --> 18:18.025 [SPEAKER_01]: We are supposed to be different. 18:19.335 --> 18:42.113 [SPEAKER_01]: We are supposed to stand out as we put God on display that should look different to anything that our world offers, anything that our world presents as the way of living, as we live how God has called us to live as a royal priesthood, as a chosen nation, 18:48.030 --> 18:49.771 [SPEAKER_01]: We should speak differently. 18:50.472 --> 18:52.153 [SPEAKER_01]: We should act differently. 18:53.113 --> 19:09.863 [SPEAKER_01]: So much so that maybe people will even make jokes about us being different and passionate and willing to tell anyone that is willing to hear and maybe even those who aren't willing to hear who it is that we worship. 19:10.764 --> 19:15.447 [SPEAKER_01]: Because it has made such a difference in our lives. 19:16.897 --> 19:27.425 [SPEAKER_01]: that we want the whole world to know, that we want to put God on display, not just for our benefit, but for the whole world's benefit. 19:28.921 --> 19:40.547 [SPEAKER_01]: And I love this idea of the tassels as a visual reminder, because if you're in a thing like me, a visual reminder can be really helpful. 19:41.208 --> 19:43.169 [SPEAKER_01]: I have grown up in church. 19:43.549 --> 19:47.011 [SPEAKER_01]: I have always believed that God is there for me. 19:47.331 --> 19:55.595 [SPEAKER_01]: And yet, as I go out into the world, into the busyness of my life, as you deal with family and work 19:59.667 --> 20:05.132 [SPEAKER_01]: how incredible that we can have a daily reminder. 20:06.954 --> 20:20.448 [SPEAKER_01]: The God has chosen you, that He loves you, that He is always there for you, that He has something better in store for you than anything that this world can offer. 20:22.162 --> 20:33.548 [SPEAKER_01]: And he has chosen you to be that representative here on Earth so that all people will know that they have that option as well. 20:35.069 --> 20:37.010 [SPEAKER_01]: Now I don't have a prayer shawl. 20:37.390 --> 20:39.711 [SPEAKER_01]: I don't have these incredible tassels. 20:40.651 --> 20:43.053 [SPEAKER_01]: I have a reminder on my to do list. 20:43.733 --> 20:47.075 [SPEAKER_01]: Some people put a post at note on their bathroom window. 20:47.936 --> 21:09.057 [SPEAKER_01]: on their bathroom mirror, some people put something in their car to remind them of who's they belong to, a visual reminder that you will see every day that God is there for you and he has chosen you and he has called you to be a representative for him here on earth. 21:10.283 --> 21:19.908 [SPEAKER_01]: because even in the good days Daniel was faithful and particularly in the bad days we hear he was faithful. 21:20.842 --> 21:30.987 [SPEAKER_01]: In verse 10 it says, now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows open towards Jerusalem. 21:31.768 --> 21:40.992 [SPEAKER_01]: Three times a day, he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God just as he had done before. 21:42.753 --> 21:44.034 [SPEAKER_01]: Three times a day, 21:50.967 --> 21:57.311 [SPEAKER_01]: As he was in Babylon, he looked beyond all that it had to offer. 21:57.831 --> 22:07.858 [SPEAKER_01]: The prosperity, the flourishing, the growth, the power, the control, the wealth that it had even to offer him in his position. 22:08.858 --> 22:14.242 [SPEAKER_01]: And three times a day, he looked beyond all of that towards Jerusalem. 22:15.376 --> 22:22.900 [SPEAKER_01]: And he was reminded that no matter how great this kingdom was, he was made for a greater kingdom. 22:23.680 --> 22:31.945 [SPEAKER_01]: But no matter what he had on offer for him, here in Babylon, there was something even better in store for him. 22:32.945 --> 22:38.268 [SPEAKER_01]: Three times a day he reminded himself to whom he belonged to. 22:38.947 --> 22:44.813 [SPEAKER_01]: Three times a day, he reminded himself that he was a part of an even greater kingdom. 22:45.474 --> 22:57.067 [SPEAKER_01]: Three times a day, he prayed and bowed down and reminded himself of the laws that he was willing to obey above any other law. 22:58.435 --> 23:07.388 [SPEAKER_01]: He was willing to resist Babylon, because he knew about a greater kingdom that was in store for him. 23:08.290 --> 23:13.417 [SPEAKER_01]: A greater kingdom that is in store for every one of us. 23:14.715 --> 23:36.251 [SPEAKER_01]: Lennox says, even though Daniel's loyalty to the Emperor was established beyond question, Daniel was clearly prepared to swim against the tide of polytheism, the worship of many gods, and assert his conviction that there was only one true god, the god of heaven whom he worshipped. 23:36.631 --> 23:41.732 [SPEAKER_01]: He was not prepared to compromise that position, even if the Emperor commanded it. 23:42.252 --> 23:49.794 [SPEAKER_01]: That left him open to accusations of being arrogant, narrow-minded, bigoted, and anti-social. 23:50.634 --> 23:55.755 [SPEAKER_01]: How could he possibly believe that he was right and the rest were wrong? 23:56.215 --> 23:57.755 [SPEAKER_01]: Who did he think he was? 23:58.815 --> 24:01.456 [SPEAKER_01]: It is all too familiar. 24:03.292 --> 24:28.325 [SPEAKER_01]: And if we think of this position that we have, being chosen by God, a holy nation, or royal priesthood, precious treasures of God, if we hear that and see that from anyone outside the church, Lennox is right, there is a level of arrogance in our position. 24:29.391 --> 24:36.133 [SPEAKER_01]: There is a level of arrogance in who we say we are, and who we feel called to live by. 24:37.113 --> 24:48.876 [SPEAKER_01]: We've celebrated already today, a couple of our people who baptized last week, and we have another of our young adults being baptized tonight. 24:50.477 --> 24:54.938 [SPEAKER_01]: There is a level of arrogance in the baptism water. 24:56.299 --> 25:09.356 [SPEAKER_01]: So you're telling me that out of all the incredible and good people in this world, that Jesus is the one person who is the Messiah, who is God here on Earth. 25:10.317 --> 25:12.600 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I am. 25:12.620 --> 25:13.822 [SPEAKER_01]: And you're telling me, 25:14.838 --> 25:32.255 [SPEAKER_01]: that even though you are wrong in many ways and fallen and sinful and you do wrong all the time, that Jesus was willing to die and sacrifice his own life for your freedom, for your benefit, so that you would be free of sin. 25:32.275 --> 25:33.897 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I do. 25:35.682 --> 25:52.988 [SPEAKER_01]: and you think that out of all the religions of this world, and all the different ways of life, and how all the different cultures tell you, you should live and how you can live, you think that following Jesus' way is the best way that you could ever live. 25:54.148 --> 25:55.068 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I do. 25:57.229 --> 26:00.390 [SPEAKER_01]: Can you hear the arrogance in those statements? 26:01.183 --> 26:12.837 [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, in our English language, the very way that we express that someone is arrogant, we would say, oh, do you think your God's gift to the world? 26:14.559 --> 26:15.520 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I do. 26:19.723 --> 26:43.082 [SPEAKER_01]: the difference is that when we make these proclamations, when we say that we are here for a greater kingdom, when we follow a different law to what the law of our culture tells us to, when we declare that we are going to live differently to how our culture tells us to live. 26:44.623 --> 26:49.007 [SPEAKER_01]: Our arrogance and our confidence is not in ourselves. 26:50.533 --> 26:55.026 [SPEAKER_01]: but it is in Jesus Christ who did it all for us. 26:56.837 --> 27:01.020 [SPEAKER_01]: Our confidence is not in our ability and our gifts. 27:01.601 --> 27:10.989 [SPEAKER_01]: We stand on those words, knowing that we have only been given what we have because of the generosity of our Heavenly Father. 27:11.669 --> 27:22.798 [SPEAKER_01]: That we have the confidence to live against the grain of this world, only because Jesus Christ sacrificed everything to show us how to truly live, 27:28.151 --> 27:36.571 [SPEAKER_01]: and to show us how we can be put God on display for everyone around us. 27:37.705 --> 27:49.956 [SPEAKER_01]: Tim Keller says, whenever a Christian asserts the core of the gospel, I know God, he loves me and I am accepted right now, the world has to view that as arrogant. 27:50.456 --> 27:56.501 [SPEAKER_01]: And when a Christian humbly says, goodness isn't enough, you must rely on Jesus. 27:56.921 --> 28:01.545 [SPEAKER_01]: The world has to perceive that as exclusive and arrogant. 28:02.406 --> 28:10.208 [SPEAKER_01]: but not arrogant in our own ability, but only through what Christ has done for us. 28:10.448 --> 28:26.613 [SPEAKER_01]: Two Corinthians three says, such confidence we have through Christ before God, not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 28:28.662 --> 28:39.155 [SPEAKER_01]: When we get to know truly who God is and who He has called us to be, we can't help but go against the grain. 28:39.536 --> 28:45.123 [SPEAKER_01]: We can't help but stand and put God on display for all people. 28:46.178 --> 28:54.040 [SPEAKER_01]: because we are reminded that in our world, we have a greater kingdom that we are living for. 28:54.301 --> 29:07.865 [SPEAKER_01]: We have a greater calling on our lives and that when we leave this place, we go out into the world and we are called to put God on display and let all others know. 29:09.027 --> 29:13.434 [SPEAKER_01]: that the kingdom that we are living for is for them as well. 29:13.454 --> 29:18.522 [SPEAKER_01]: And it is greater than anything else that can be offered here. 29:19.678 --> 29:41.498 [SPEAKER_01]: Daniel was an incredible example of someone who was willing to almost arrogantly stand his ground and say, while everyone else is worshiping you King, I will only worship the one true God, even to the point where he risked his life. 29:42.658 --> 29:56.044 [SPEAKER_01]: Verse 17 says, a stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of the nobles so that Daniel's situation might not be changed. 29:57.325 --> 30:03.528 [SPEAKER_01]: And when they rolled that stone away, and Daniel walked out unscathed. 30:05.302 --> 30:15.969 [SPEAKER_01]: He put God on display to show that His God was greater than anything else that there was in Babylon. 30:18.911 --> 30:19.892 [SPEAKER_01]: Does that ring a bell? 30:22.113 --> 30:26.396 [SPEAKER_01]: Where else do we hear of a stone rolled in front of a tomb? 30:27.957 --> 30:32.220 [SPEAKER_01]: And when that stone was rolled away after Jesus' death, 30:33.101 --> 30:38.927 [SPEAKER_01]: and his crucifixion, they put his body in a tomb and they rolled the stone over the tomb. 30:40.329 --> 30:46.075 [SPEAKER_01]: And when they rolled that stone away, and that tomb was empty. 30:46.978 --> 30:52.440 [SPEAKER_01]: It didn't just show a king and one nation, the power of our God. 30:52.820 --> 31:04.685 [SPEAKER_01]: It showed all of humanity and the rest of the world how great our God is, that not even death can separate us from the love of God. 31:06.291 --> 31:32.927 [SPEAKER_01]: Daniel was just a foretaste of what Jesus Christ did on earth to help us to remember that we are meant for a greater kingdom, that we are called to a greater purpose, that yes, use your gifts and your abilities to do all you can for the culture and the kingdom and the nation that we live in. 31:34.363 --> 31:46.575 [SPEAKER_01]: live in this world but do not live for it because God has something even greater in store than anything that this world can offer. 31:47.636 --> 31:50.078 [SPEAKER_01]: So as I finish this morning, 31:51.522 --> 31:57.664 [SPEAKER_01]: If this is something new to you that you haven't even heard of, what is this greater kingdom? 31:57.884 --> 32:01.905 [SPEAKER_01]: What is this, this chosen nation that you're talking about? 32:02.006 --> 32:06.507 [SPEAKER_01]: Can I encourage you if you have come with someone today, ask them about it? 32:06.847 --> 32:09.748 [SPEAKER_01]: Come up the front and talk to us after the service. 32:09.808 --> 32:11.669 [SPEAKER_01]: We would love to talk to you about it. 32:12.329 --> 32:20.612 [SPEAKER_01]: But maybe you've been hearing about this whole nation, this being chosen by God for quite some time. 32:21.612 --> 32:27.396 [SPEAKER_01]: And you have decided today that, yep, you know what, that is what I'm living for. 32:27.817 --> 32:29.618 [SPEAKER_01]: That is what I want to live for. 32:29.938 --> 32:35.483 [SPEAKER_01]: Even when everyone around me lives for something else, that is what I'm committed for. 32:36.163 --> 32:44.149 [SPEAKER_01]: Then I would love to say a prayer with you, just a simple prayer as you open your heart to all that God has installed for you. 32:45.570 --> 32:47.892 [SPEAKER_01]: And then for everyone else here, 32:49.313 --> 32:54.257 [SPEAKER_01]: But may have already made that decision whether it's recently or decades ago. 32:56.159 --> 33:17.336 [SPEAKER_01]: I'd love to pray for you as well, because as we've been listening at Daniel 6, as a reminder for us that we have been called to put God on display out in our world, we need confidence, we need courage, 33:18.412 --> 33:27.276 [SPEAKER_01]: We need affirmation, not in our own strength, but a reminder of the confidence that we have in Christ. 33:27.877 --> 33:31.198 [SPEAKER_01]: So why don't you all stand with me as I finish this morning? 33:32.579 --> 33:33.479 [SPEAKER_01]: And let's pray. 33:37.301 --> 33:43.644 [SPEAKER_01]: And for those of you who have not made that commitment to be a part of this holy nation, 33:49.273 --> 33:50.953 [SPEAKER_01]: Join with me as I pray. 33:52.534 --> 33:59.055 [SPEAKER_01]: Lord God, I believe that you are the one true God. 34:00.956 --> 34:06.897 [SPEAKER_01]: Jesus Christ, I believe that you died and rose again for the forgiveness of my sins. 34:09.217 --> 34:16.539 [SPEAKER_01]: And with the help of the Holy Spirit, I want to follow you every step of the way. 34:18.993 --> 34:22.495 [SPEAKER_01]: help me Lord to do that every single day. 34:24.956 --> 34:29.759 [SPEAKER_01]: And for those of you who may be here, who have already made that decision. 34:31.520 --> 34:42.266 [SPEAKER_01]: But as you are aware, as we go out into our workplaces, into our schools, amongst our friends, our families, and our neighborhoods. 34:45.748 --> 34:47.950 [SPEAKER_01]: God give us the courage, 34:49.098 --> 34:52.319 [SPEAKER_01]: to put you on display in our lives. 34:54.000 --> 35:02.063 [SPEAKER_01]: May we be reminded that we have a greater calling and a greater kingdom that we are living for. 35:03.783 --> 35:16.928 [SPEAKER_01]: And that no matter what happens on this earth, in all the incredible blessings, but as well as all the hurt and the grief and the suffering, 35:18.319 --> 35:41.698 [SPEAKER_01]: May we turn our eyes to Jesus Christ and be reminded that we have something greater that through you Jesus, we have a calling and a kingdom that is greater than anything else in this world, not through our power but through yours. 35:43.819 --> 35:47.744 [SPEAKER_01]: and remind us to live for you every single day. 35:48.986 --> 35:51.549 [SPEAKER_01]: We pray this in Jesus' mighty name. 35:52.450 --> 35:52.791 [SPEAKER_01]: Amen. 35:53.972 --> 35:56.255 [SPEAKER_01]: We join with us as we sing our final song.