[0:00] In dependence upon the Lord for all needed help, I venture to draw your prayerful attention to three words that you will find in Daniel chapter 6 and verse 22.
[0:36] Daniel chapter 6 verse 22 and these three words.
[0:46] My God hath, my God hath the testimony of Daniel, the servant of God, in answer to the anxious inquiry spoken by the King.
[1:18] O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God whom thou serviced continually, able to deliver thee from the lions.
[1:38] Great mercy to possess the word of God.
[1:49] Great mercy to have a head knowledge of the truth. But a head knowledge only of the word of God will not save the soul.
[2:12] Ye must be born again. When the Lord begins that work of grace and that work begun, he will perform it.
[2:29] The word of God is made a living, vital, blessed word to a believer's soul.
[2:41] So that, step by step, by the Spirit's leading and the Spirit's teaching, there is a walking up and down in the experience of the word of God.
[2:58] Not just to know it in the head, but to know it in the heart. And to know it by living, vital, personal experience of it.
[3:14] To know it in the heart. To know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and our Redeemer.
[3:26] And to know, as the Apostle says, I know whom, not what, whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
[3:49] We have been told of a dear soul that as the Lord so blessed her with vital, personal experience of the word of God in her soul, she would write by that verse or verses, T and P, tried and proved.
[4:15] So Daniel could speak as he did, My God hath. The testimony of the king was true.
[4:28] By God whom thou serviced continually. And seeking to speak from these words tonight, we will do so as the Lord helps, and we are utterly dependent upon the Lord for that help.
[4:49] In first, tracing it out in the life of Daniel. Then I hope we may also be able to speak of these words from our own personal experience of the love of God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, known and felt in our hearts.
[5:13] You will be well conversant with the life and history of Daniel. He was a young man when taken away into captivity, into the land of Babylon, a land of idolatry, a strange land.
[5:40] A land that sought that Daniel and his friends would forget the God of Israel, embrace idolatry, and be swallowed up in the evil of that land.
[6:05] Christians today, as always, ever have been and ever will be, are in a wicked world.
[6:23] And the world seeks to, and would desire, to, as it were, swallow them up. Either persecute them, hate them, scorn them, ridicule them, or ensnare them.
[6:44] They would say, as the king of old sent that messenger to Elijah, who was on the mount, come down. The world seeks that the Christian should bend, the Christian should walk with them, should not be so narrow, as they say, in their life, in their walk, in their conversation.
[7:12] A great danger, in this modern age, my friend, we need, as never before, to stand in the old paths, not to be carried away, not to deviate from the truth, as it is recorded, in the word of God.
[7:31] But as I state, to stand firm, and earnestly contend, for the faith, let us remember, the example, of Daniel, he, always stood, for what was right, but he always did it, in a courteous, spirit.
[7:51] May that grace, be ours. One point, I wish to take, with you, you remember that, they changed, the names, of these Hebrews.
[8:05] Daniel, was given the name, of Belteshazzar, Hananiah, of Shadrach, Mishael, of Meshach, Azariah, of Abednego.
[8:17] Nothing to worry about. Everything to worry about. What was the danger? What was the snare? What was the enemy's purpose, in this?
[8:28] What is the satanic influence, seen, in this, change of, names? Well, you see, the Hebrew names, speak of the God, of Israel.
[8:40] Daniel means, God is my judge. And Hananiah, speaks of, the grace, and mercy of God. And Mishael, of the, name of God, or asked of God.
[8:53] And, Azariah, the help, of God. Now, the names that were given to them, Belteshazzar, Bel, was an idol.
[9:05] and I understand, Rack, R-A-C-H, Shadrach, and Meshach, and Nego, were all, gods of the Babylonians.
[9:16] In other words, do away with your God, do away with your Bible, come and bow down, worship the idols, be one with us, and all, is well.
[9:29] They had changed their names, they could never overthrow, the work of grace, never destroy the faith, in their heart. Tried as it was. And, you see, the answer, the text is, an answer to, the question of the king, whom thou service continually.
[9:49] And this is the, standard, of a Christian. It's not just to serve him, on a Sunday, the hour and a half, in the chapel service. But to serve him, by day and by night.
[10:00] In our home, in our school, in our business, in our neighborhood, in, uh, every moment, of our life. And Daniel was presented, with a, difficulty.
[10:14] The king, would, uh, desire, that, uh, they should take, of the portions, of the king's meat, and the wine. But this was contrary, to the word of God, as revealed, in the, uh, the physical dispensation.
[10:28] Who is Daniel, to obey God, or the king? What is Daniel, to do? Respectfully, he makes a request. And, uh, the eunuch, uh, uh, uh, agrees, and decides, to prove it.
[10:43] And it is proved, that, they could eat, what God had appointed, and God blessed, and prospered, and you younger friends, as well as the older, seek, always, to honor God.
[10:55] Good God first. You may lose, to start with. You'll never lose, finally. The word of God declares, them that honor me, I will honor.
[11:08] And so, right through, in the book of Daniel, we see the truth, of these words, whom, thou service, continually. You see, when the king, had that, dream, and then commanded, that, all the, uh, people should be, wise men should be slain.
[11:26] Daniel gave, and his friends, gave themselves to prayer. When you have, problems, difficulties, and, we have constant, uh, perplexities, take it, to God, in prayer.
[11:41] And when the king, uh, uh, requested Daniel, to be brought before him, Daniel didn't speak, of any ability, of him, his own, but he said, there's a God in heaven.
[11:53] A dear old deacon, age 92, was having his eyes tested. Uh, he doesn't look anywhere near that age, through God's mercy, and, three nursing sisters were there, and they said to him, you can't be that age, he says, I'm, they said, what is the secret of your age?
[12:10] And the dear man was helped to speak, about God's goodness to him, and they stood amazed. It was a testimony, of a dear saint, of the eventide of life, of the goodness of God.
[12:23] It's God. You see, a Christian doesn't take things for himself. We need to be delivered from pride. We need to give all the glory, put the whole crown, on the head, of our God.
[12:38] I must not tarry at length, on further background, uh, the earlier part of his, life, and that solemn night, uh, when the writing was on the wall, and the faithful, uh, deliverance, uh, of truth, the faithful declaration, of truth, uh, to that, uh, wicked king, and, what a word, thou, art weighed in the balances, and found wanting, what about your religion, and my religion, friend, is going to be put in the balances, God's balances, we can have a man-made religion, we can have, an outward religion, but oh, we want a heart religion, a holy ghost religion, wrought powerfully, by the holy spirit, in our souls.
[13:28] I come now, to the chapter, from which our text is taken, Daniel is prospered, prospered, do you ever, I put it in this way, almost dread prosperity, or you lift it up with pride, or you lift it up with pride, friend, we need, God's keeping power, when we're in full health, sun shines, we may receive promotion, uh, prospered providentially, we need, to be kept, by the power of God, lest, that we, vaunt ourselves, lest, we make an idol, of the very prosperity, that God, has given to us, we need to pray, as much, if not more, in prosperity, as we do in adversity, adversity, will bring us to our knees, or should do, but prosperity, we may forget, to thank God for it, and forget, to ask God, to sanctify, the prosperity, that it may be used, for his glory, and that we might, handle it, wisely, and not, be carried away with it, we might remember, our responsibility, to, use it, for the glory of God, with this, came, a testing time, how sometimes, in life, unexpectedly, suddenly, comes, a trial, of faith, a time, of testing, there was, jealousy, among, among the, other presidents, and princes, beloved, don't, just look,
[15:39] I, look, I'm not, preaching to you, I'm preaching, to myself, and it may be, to you as well, don't, misunderstand that, don't think, that I'm just, preaching to you, I'm preaching, to myself, I'm sure, my dear brethren, the ministry, will often feel, as I do, that though I'm preaching, I'm sitting there, in the seat, in searching, jealousy, how it can creep, into our heart, in a church, among believers, and what that jealousy, is capable of doing, the tongue, that can be set, on the fire of hell, the plotting, the scheming, the unkind word, we need, to be kept, by the power of God, here it was, they go to the king, and they say, king, we want you to make, a law, that anyone, that is, who would ask, a petition, of any God, or man, except the king, for 30 days, shall be cast, into a den of the islands, the king signs it, the word of God, is full of instruction, you may say, what is there in that, there's a lot, in life, we have to sign, many documents, be careful, what you put, your signature to, there is, the saying today, in legal documents, and other matters, read the small print, that is, a practical, help, but above all, am I, going to sign, something, without praying, without asking,
[17:49] God to give me, wisdom and understanding, am I signing, that which is right, we need to be, very careful, the king, as you see, would have given, anything, that he never, signed such a thing, and so, not only in signing things, but taking a step, making a decision, all that we may be, kept from making, our own choice, but that we may, pray, for divine, guidance, but what is Daniel to do, is he to pray, and be cast, into the den of lions, or is he, to forget, prayer, and escape, the den of lions, is he to put, the king first, or, his God first, whom, thou service, continually, Daniel, did not, make, as it were, parade, his religion, not like the,
[18:53] Pharisees, and scribes, that stood, on the street corners, were heard, for their long prayers, and, and yet, there was no, reality, in them, but here, in faith, in trust, of his God, not ashamed, to be a praying man, not to be turned, from the throne, of grace, he went, as his custom was, and to his own home, and his windows, being open, toward Jerusalem, very sweet instruction, there, Solomon's prayer, if these people, are in captivity, and they think about God, and pray to God, then Lord, hear, and forgive, and do, for thy people, and he kneels, and he, prays, and, something else, we forget, so often, he thanked God, count your many blessings, name them, one by one, it will surprise you, what the Lord has done, in your darkest hour, in your darkest moments, in your saddest times, when your body, may be wrapped, with pain, when you may be tempted, when you may be, oh so weary, when you may be, misunderstood, when everything, seems to be, going against you, oh may you be helped, come to the words, of that text, my God hath, he's done it in the past,
[20:20] I do not feel, he's with me now, he is with me, but I do not feel it, but I would trust him, I would thank him, for all that he's done, and still thank him, in faith, that he will, appear for my soul, in this very darkest hour, in this lonely moment, in this time of distress, when I know not what to do, when the mountains are great, before me, and I cannot see, how I can come over them, when that place is so rough, and I cannot see, how it can be made smooth, when the way is so dark, and I cannot see, a chink of light in it, when it's the valley, of the shadow of death, and all death, seems to be written, over everything, and yet, I believe my God, will appear, and I give thanks, these men, soon discover, Daniel in prayer, and they go to the king, oh Fred, it would be a wonderful thing, if the world discovers, Christians in prayer today, not as I say, that we parade our religion, not in the sense of, look what a fine Christian I am, look what a great man I am, look how I pray, not that, my friend, itself will be nothing, it is that God may be all, and here, as they go to the king, and the king does all he can, but there's no way out, there's no escape, there's the den of lions, there's the great stone, that is rolled over the face of the den, sealed with the king's signet, the night of darkness, no way out,
[21:51] Daniel's in with the den of lions, and the king, with all that he has, he cannot sleep, that night, I believe Daniel had a wonderful night, you may say, and I believe there are one of your younger friends here, and I'm glad to see them, well that's Daniel, things don't happen like that today, they do friend, my God hath, I will just, name, if I may, personal experience, the night, prior to that great heart operation, that I, underwent through God's mercy, nearly two years ago, as I woke, in the early hours, with this operation in front of me, begging of the Lord, and I felt, even there, a measure of quietness, and trust in my God, when the Lord drew near, his left hand is under my head, his right hand doth embrace me, my friend,
[22:59] I felt, Lord, that can't be for me, it's much too good for me, but the Lord so confirmed it, and poured into my soul, the blessings of his love, and linked the scriptures together, to confirm it, friend, it was a wonderful hour, right with this in front of me, you see, I'm saying it, for the glory of God, I'm saying it for the young, that it's not just something, that Daniel went through, I'm sure the testimony of many here, would tell you, of a night, and a day maybe, of wonderful peace, in the darkest hour, of the presence of the Lord, another occasion, when I was in intensive care, it was peace, perfect peace, at that time, I know it's easy for me, to speak now, but following a road accident, as we call it, and the specialist felt, that I'd had a massive heart attack, and it seemed, I didn't know, whether I'd ever pull through it, let alone, that I'd ever preach again, but my friend,
[24:03] I could leave it all, it was peace, now don't misunderstand me, don't think, that I'm such a fine Christian, that I'm a strong believer, I'm not, I'm a man, full of fears, but there are times, when the Lord comes, my friend, the devil's silence, your fears are gone, they are, it's peace, be still, and there's a calm, my God, hath, and that's what Daniel experienced, that's what Daniel experienced, vital things these are, precious things these are, God, and the dear, and this, king comes to, the den, and, calls out to him, and says, oh Daniel, servant of the living God, is, now there's something, ever so sad here, and I don't know, whether these words, are going to divide, this congregation, I'm not dividing it, but the word will, the text says,
[25:08] Daniel says, my God, the king says, thy God, what do, you say, can you say, my God, or do you look upon, God's people and say, thy God, now let me not, appear in that word, to be too sharp, the word is sharp, sharper than a two-edged sword, it divides, but look, there may be those, very tender, and say, oh I don't feel, as yet, that I can say, my God, but I long to say it, I seek to say it, I'm like Ruth, I'm desiring, that this God, will be my God, bless you dear friend, and the time will come, as the Lord teaches you, and lead you, my God, my Father, blissful name, oh may I call thee mine, may I with sweet assurance, claim a portion, so divine, so I encourage you, but it's a sad thing, to live in the world, and say, ah that's a Christian, but I'm not,
[26:13] I don't know anything, about their God, I know, or I might know much about, but I don't know anything, personally, and so Daniel, could say, my God, has sent his angel, and shut the lion's mouth, they haven't hurt me, they've been like sheep, and lambs, and I've had a night, of peace, and quietness, and trust in my God, now it's a very solemn thing, to speak, against, or plot, in any way, in a wrong way, against God's people, remember, they're the body of Christ, look, let me just prove that, Saul, before his conversion, Saul of Tarsus, you see, when he was converted, the Lord says, why, persecutest thou, what, didn't say my people, didn't say my church, didn't say my believers, why, persecutest thou, me, looking at it, the other way round, whoso giveeth a cup, of cold water, in the name of the disciple, is done, in as much, as you've done it, unto one of the least, of these my friends, you've done it unto me, now what are we doing, if we plot, and wrongly, against God's people, now, it does not mean, of course, that we should not, speak a word of loving correction, where that's needed, to one another, that's a blessing, and needs much grace, to do it, but what I'm speaking about, is the danger, we need to be kept, from doing anything, that is wrong, and remember, you may hide it, you may think, nobody knows about it, but God knows about it, and it's against him, now what happened, to these people, that had condemned, or accused,
[28:15] Daniel, is most solemn, we read, that the king commanded, and they brought those men, and they cast them, into the same den, and what happened, and it's a most terrible word, and the lions, had the mastery, over them, and break, all their bones, in pieces, or ever they came, to the bottom of the dead, isn't it dreadful, isn't it solemn, isn't it a word of warning, my God has, now, as I tell my dear people, at home, sometimes we leave, a few seed thoughts, and that's all we have time, for tonight, as we come perhaps, to a second, aspect of this word, as it affects, us, and we might, put it in this way, here's a question, that is asked, and maybe, there's one here, maybe more, that, the devil is tempting, circumstances, that are against you, and a measure, of unbelief, comes into our heart, and, is thy God, whom thou servest, can she, able to deliver thee, and the devil, saying to you, ah, yes, now, look at you now,
[29:49] God's forsaken you, it's impossible, that you should be, delivered, and maybe, could even, bring before you, some, some, some, failure, some, backsliding, and say, you've sinned all away, unbelief, may be powerful, and say, I cannot see, how God, can deliver me, how God, can, help me, in such a part, or it may be, and, we're no strangers to it, I have named, one or two, just, instances in my life, where the Lord, did bless, but I know, many hours of darkness, many times of mist, and doubts, and fears, no stranger to it, friend, and, we say, well now, is his mercy, clean, gone forever, will ever the light, shine again, can ever, God have mercy, upon such a wretch, as I am, and, yet, my God, has, is thy God, able, yes, you say, but I'm such a sinner,
[30:57] I'm so, far off from God, I'm, such a wretch, my friend, he's able, able, able, to save them, to be uttermost, uttermost sinners, uttermost ends of the earth, that come unto God, by him, seeing he ever liveth, to make intercession, for them, our God, is able, my God, ha, Jesus sought me, when a stranger, wandering from the fold, of God, he, to save my soul, from danger, interposed his, precious blood, blessed be, his name, my God, ha, but then you say, ah, but the devil's got hold of me, my friend, there's some mark, in your favor, that a dear old saint, years ago, my dear old pastor, Ernest Brooker, at Rehoboth, Tunbridge Wells, used to, speak of this dear man, and said, Lord, when he prayed, he said, Lord, is there enough grace, in me to annoy the devil, not that we're to seek, the devil's temptations, but I knew what the man meant, you see, if there's no liveliness, and exercise in our soul, the devil won't wake you up, he'll be very pleased, to see you go to sleep, but if you are praying, if you are engaged, in serving God, whatever it may be, preaching, deacons, members of the church, visiting, helping those, ministering to the poor, visiting the sick, and whatever the duty may be, the devil will oppose it, well, you may be under sore temptation, and it may be, the devil can even quote a scripture, and seem to got you, but our God is able, to succor them that are tempted, well, he was tempted at all points, like as we are, yet without sin, blessed be his name, he is able,
[32:50] Lord, my God, have, and have there been times, when the Lord has prepared a table, before you, in the presence of your enemies, that is, the shepherd, the sheep, and the enemies, the thieves, the robbers, the devil, the hirelings, and you come to God's house, you've been, oh, so tried, and the Lord, has led his servant, blessed his word to your soul, laid the table, fed you to it, and cause your enemies, to flee from you, and silence the devil, and overcome all your, your fears, because my God, has, you say, but oh, I do need help, my responsibilities, are so great, they're so weighty, and, and, in my daily calling, in the family, in the church of God, in the ministry, and, friend, our God, that God of all grace, is able to make all grace, abound toward you, that ye, who are always having, and all sufficiency, in all things, may abound, unto every good work, plead for that grace, seek for the help of God, pray to be the vessel, made meet, for the master's use, covered with the hand of the master, that no glory, should be to the vessel, but what a sacred privilege, to be used, in the service of your Lord, and master, that my God, has, and then again, as,
[34:22] I think you may say, oh, but look, I'm in such terrible danger, you don't know, what a wicked heart I've got, you don't know, how I'm prone to wander, you don't know, how easily I'm snared, you don't know, how I'm slipping, all over the place, sometimes, it's perilous times, yes, able to keep you, from falling, and friend, it's a great mercy, to feel that, you're in great danger, of falling, you're in the, you're far more danger, when you're walking, head high, proud of yourself, all sufficient, of yourself, and think, I shan't need any help here, I can manage this matter, I can walk this path, I can carry this burden, my friend, let him, that thinketh his standard, take heed, lest he fall, but oh, if you fear, Lord, I'm such a weak thing, I'm such a weary thing, and not only, to keep him from falling, but Lord, I want thee to hold me, I want thee to keep me, close to thee, and there's a beautiful word, in the song, who is this, that cometh up from the wilderness, leading, on her beloved, carried in the arms, of Jesus, and the Lord, leads you, in the right path, doesn't he, and you bring him, to heaven at last, stone, my God has, even there, shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand, shall hold me, my God has, and as I think,
[35:45] I quoted right earlier, if I remember it correctly, I am persuaded, says the apostle, that, that he, that I have committed, unto him, that what I've committed, he's able to keep that, which I have committed, unto him, against that day, my God has, now beloved, is it time, that someone should come, before the church, is it time, that someone should declare, what the Lord has done, for your soul, of that loving Jesus, that died on the cross, that you should come, to sinners ran, and declare, of your hope, in his mercy, and of his love, that that's reach your soul, of those answers to prayer, those helps by the way, and then, again, is it not time, that members of the church, should speak again, and again, one to another, and come all ye, that fear the Lord, and I will declare, what the Lord, what the Lord, not what I've done, what God has done, for me, when trouble, like a gloomy cloud, has gathered thick, and thundered loud, he near my soul, has always stood, his loving kindness,
[36:50] O how good, my God hath, right to the end, of the journey, when I joined the church, my dear pastor, gave me this text, my God, shall supply, all your need, according to his riches, in glory, by Christ Jesus, I can truly say, and set my seal, my God, hath, and when, the redeemed, when through grace, we reach glory, O friend, we shall be able to say, my God, why here on earth, my Jesus, has done all things well, and though he's led you, through paths, that you said, Lord, not that way, not that cup so bitter, not that furnace heated, seven times hotter, than it's wont to be heated, not that dark valley, and yet the Lord, has so blessed you in it, and brought you through it, it's been the right way, and you can say, my God, hath, there's been no mistake, no mistake, whatsoever, with mercy, and with judgment, my web of time, he woe, and in the deuce of sorrow, and lusted with his love,
[37:56] O bless the hand that guided, O bless the heart that planned, when thrown, in highest glory, in Emmanuel's land, because my God hath, Amen.
[38:19] Our closing hymn this evening, is the hymn number 893, Lord, 893, Lord, dismiss us with thy blessing, fill our hearts with joy, and peace, let us each, thy love possessing, triumph in redeeming grace, O refresh us, travelling, through this wilderness, hour and tiller, verse, seven, times, eight hundred and ninety-three.
[39:02] Lord, dismiss us with thy blessing.
[39:14] Fill our hearts with joy and peace. Let us each thy love possessing Triumph in redeeming grace.
[39:39] O precious, O precious, Traveling through this wilderness.
[40:01] Thanks we give and adoration For thy gospel's joyful sound.
[40:18] May the fruits of thy salvation In our hearts and lives have come.
[40:36] May thy presence, may thy presence In our saver for behold.
[40:54] So when e'er the signals given Us proper to call away Born on angels' wings to heaven And the sun is to be Obey.
[41:35] May we ever, may we ever Reign with Christ in endless day.
[41:55] Amen Amen Amen Amen Take us under thy safe care Bless thy people The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ The love of God The communion of the Holy Ghost Be with you all Amen Amen Amen Amen sizes Theying Be a Desp vocês Seem