HSS_2020_Q1_EP07

♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

We are in the midst of an amazing series

of studies on the book of Daniel.

It's been such a blessing.

Today we're coming

to perhaps the best known story

in the book of Daniel,

Daniel in the Lions' Den,

From the Lions' Den to the Angel's Den,

and what does that mean

for our lives today.

We're glad you joined us

for Hope Sabbath School.

And if you've missed any in this series,

go to our website, hopetv.org/hopess.

You can watch the entire series;
It's life-changing.

And welcome to the team.

What a great series of studies.

And I'm excited today that Jason

is going to lead in our study.

You know, what's exciting to me

as we have team members teach,

is that it's an inspiration to thousands

of teachers around the world,

young adults who are saying,

"Well, I could download

the outline from the website;
I could teach

an interactive Bible study, too."

That's exactly what we want to see happen.

We're glad you're all part

of our Hope Sabbath School family

and part of the team

sharing the Word of God.

I'd like to share just a few emails
from some

of our Hope Sabbath School members.

Nyasha writes from the island of Cyprus,

and she says, "Hope Sabbath School

has been such a blessing to me.

With my study group, we have found

your study guide helpful to us.

We pray God reaches hearts
of fellow students.

We are a small group in Cyprus."

Well, thanks for writing to us, Nyasha.

Thanks for leading

a small Bible study group there

in your home country.

Sam writes from Rwanda; we've heard

from Rwanda recently, haven't we?

"It's my pleasure to greet you

from Rwanda in East Africa.

We have so many

Hope Sabbath School members here!"

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "Since the first day I heard you,

I've been blessed by your class.

I like the class arrangement

and how you deliver the content.

I'm gaining a lot from your discussions,

and I will continue to pray for you
and your families.

Let our hearts continue to focus

on the glorious Second Coming of Jesus.

Be ready to shake hands

with the Almighty." Amen.

Well, I'm not sure, Sam,

if we'll shake hands; we might

bow down and worship,

but what a joyful day that will be

when we see our Savior, face to face.

Tiavina writes from Madagascar.

We heard from Madagascar

recently, too, didn't we?

"I'm from Madagascar,

an English-speaking church.

I really appreciate what you're doing.

I download Hope Sabbath School,

and I like it so much.

I am father of three children.

Great is our God. Amen. Maranatha."

Well, I would say to you, Tiavina,

I'm so thankful that you are

wanting to be close to God

because it will bless your children.

In fact, we'll see in our study today

how our relationship with God

does affect the relationships

of those around us.

Thanks for writing to us.

Here's a note from a donor in Colorado,

(it's a real letter) from Colorado

in the United States of America,

and it says, "I really enjoy

Hope Sabbath School.

I watch at least once a day.

I'm heading towards 80 years of age.

I don't have or want a computer
or whatever,

so I just sent you this message.

Please keep on keeping on

with Hope Sabbath School.

It's really a neat way to spend time

with the Word of God.

I pray for you all,"

and a gift of 10 dollars.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) That's part of the miracle,
isn't it?

Thanks so much to our friend

from Colorado and to each one of you

who partners with us

through your financial support.

One last note, from Spings,
Spings, in Kenya,

"Hope Sabbath School has been

such a blessing to me and my family

for the last nine years."

That's faithful attendance.

"We love singing the songs

along with the class,

and Hope Sabbath School has improved

my in-depth knowledge of the Bible.

May God continue to bless you

as you help prepare souls

for the Second Coming of Jesus. Amen."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Well, Spings, we have

a song to sing right now.

In fact, we have something special.

One of our team members,

who's about the same age that Daniel was

when he wrote the words of our song,

is going to help lead in our singing.

So, come up here, Adison.

We'd invite you to sing with us,

"Blessed be the Name of God
Forever and Ever."

♪ music ♪

(Derek) Thank you, Adison.

I think we're going to be singing

that song for a long time,

"Blessed be the name of God..."

What a powerful prayer it is from Daniel.

And now we're coming

to the later part of his life, Jason.

We're going to see how

he's still trusting in the Lord God.

Why don't you lead us in prayer

as we begin our study.

(Jason) Amen. Please bow your heads
as I pray.

Dear Heavenly Father,

today, as we open Your Word,

as we continue seeing Your leading

in the story of Daniel's life,

help us to take something

from the story today

that we can apply to our own lives.

Lord, we know we're living

in a period of time

where these messages are very important.

Guide our hearts, guide our minds,

and may the Spirit of Christ

guide us in this lesson.

We pray all this in the holy name
of Jesus. Amen.

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Jason) The story of Daniel

is a very exciting story.

He has different kingdoms

that he gets involved in,

and yet the interesting thing is,

no matter what kingdom

happens to be in power,

God still seems to be blessing him
and guiding him.

And we'll see today,

that story continues to be true,

even with the different challenges

that he has to face.

Now, before getting into the story,

the title of the lesson,

*From the Lions' Den to the Angel's Den,"

So, when we think, or when you hear

about a lions' den,

what are some of the words

that come to mind?

What are some of the descriptions

or even feelings when you

think about a lions' den?

Adison, you've got some idea?

(Adison) I would be at least

a little bit terrified.

(Jason) "A little bit terrified,"
all right.

Travis, when you hear "lions' den"?

(Travis) It's just not a place
I want to be.

(Jason) Not a place you want to be. Sean?

(Sean) Speechless.

(Jason) Speechless, all right.

So we have this idea of this lions' den

as being something terrifying,

something that makes us speechless,

not a place, Travis says,

that he would want to be.

And yet, as we see, with God's leading,

we can end up going anywhere.

So let us get into the lesson now,

and I'm going to ask Heide

if you could read for us.

We're in the book of Daniel, chapter 6,

if you could read for us
verses 1 though 3.

The story today is in Daniel 6,

and through this entire chapter,

we'll see this story that happens

in the saga of Daniel's life.

(Heide) All right, I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,
and it says:

(Jason) All right, so this

is a fascinating passage of Scripture.

Before we get into all of it -

there's a lot to unpack here -

let's first look at who's the name

that's mentioned first in this chapter?

Because we're talking about,

this is the book of Daniel,

and this is the story of Daniel,

and yet who's name is mentioned here?

(Team) Darius.

(Jason) "DARE-ee-us" / "Dah-RHY-us," yes,

so there's this guy,

"Dah-RHY-us" / "DARE-ee-us,"

we've never heard about him

so far in this story.

So someone on the team tell me,

who is this Darius guy,

and what is he doing

in the book of Daniel?

Jonathan, I see you.

(Jonathan) I can't remember exactly.

It's a little complex,

but I know he's a Mede,

and he's under some other kings

and he's somehow in charge of Babylon.

(Jason) He's somehow in charge
of Babylon. Stephanie.

(Stephanie) We know

from the previous chapter

that he has come in and sieged Babylon.

(Jason) He's come in

and sieged Babylon. Daisy.

(Daisy) The previous chapter,

the last verse in chapter 5,

tells us that when Belshazzar
was overthrown,

pretty much it was Darius

who took over the kingdom.

(Jason) All right, so we have

a change in kingdoms,

and yet here we have Daniel,

and what's happening to Daniel?

Is he carried away captive,
because we know

in previous parts of Daniel

that he's carried away

as a captive, as a prisoner.

Do we have this story here

in verses 2 and 3?

Nicole, you're shaking your head.

(Nicole) No, he's actually given

an authoritative position in the kingdom

in terms of the leadership role.

(Jason) Now, this is interesting

because, if you think about it,

not only was he a captive,

first from Jerusalem to Babylon,

but now he's a captive under the Medes,

so he's kind of this double captive.

Yet he's being given

this position? Travis.

(Travis) It seems like

there is just a reformation

of the government of Babylon,

and now Darius is in charge,

and he's the king.

But I can't help but think in my mind

that he heard the story,

that Daniel might have told
[about] Belshazzar

and thought, "Wow, there's got

to be something real important
about this man."

And obviously he saw there was

a great spirit, a good spirit, within him,

and he elevated him to a high position.

(Jason) Elevated him to a high position,

yes, and it even says,

as Travis referenced there in verse 3,

there's this excellent spirit.

So Daniel's in this high position,

but apparently Daniel's not the only one.

There are other leaders

in this, here, as well,

and just thinking, what is it

going to be like for these other leaders

when you have this one guy elevated?
Jonathan?

(Jonathan) I'm just thinking, is it hard

to have much of an excellent spirit

when the other people are ones

that will connive and try to throw people

into the lions' den?

Maybe the excellent spirit was one

in which he had compassion,

and he reached out to people

that were in trouble.

I just thought it was interesting.

(Jason) And we know

from previous stories and lessons

there's a lot that distinguishes him.

Let's get further here into the story

and see a little bit more, though,

about how these other people

are reacting to his "excellent spirit."

I'd like to ask Gary if you could read

for us Daniel, chapter 6, just verse 4.

So, let's see, because we're being told

about some of the other people.

Let's see [what] their reaction is

to this Daniel, this double-captive guy.

(Gary) All right, I'll be reading

from the King James Version,

Daniel 6, verse 4:

(Jason) Wow, this is a pretty
fascinating verse here.

How are these other leaders

reacting to Daniel?

Are they happy that he's one of their...?

Nicole's shaking her head.

(Nicole) They're envious.

They are somewhat jealous of Daniel

and the fact that he's a double captive,

we're going to call him a double captive,

that he now has the power

of authority over them.

"Why should this prisoner

be able to tell me

what I should and should not be doing."

So there's a sense of jealousy.

(Jason) A sense of jealousy. Yes, Heide.

(Heide) I'm agreeing with Nicole.

(Jason) You're agreeing.

You see the sense of jealousy there.
Stephanie?

(Stephanie) I would just say
that it's jealousy,

but I think it's jealousy

because he was preferred.

There was clearly a distinction.

(Jason) Clearly a distinction. Daisy.

(Daisy) I'm thinking, it says

that the king selected these three people

to oversee the people that were

over the 120 provinces

to protect his interests as a king.

It's possible, I'm just saying,

that maybe those two wanted

to also maybe cheat,

in a way, to benefit themselves,

which would be cheating the king.

But Daniel was not into that.

He was faithful down to the letter.

And so, it says that when the king

was making plans to put Daniel,

that means they would have

to report to Daniel.

They knew Daniel could

find something on them,

and they were not going to have that.

(Jason) Yes, Rick.

(Rick) I think it's fascinating

that Daniel is a captive

at the beginning of the book;

he comes as a Hebrew.

And it's the very fact that he's a Hebrew

that probably helps him here

because he's not Babylonian.

The Medes have now taken over,

and they can say, "Oh, well,

this guy's a Hebrew,

and he's been a wise adviser;

I'll just keep him on."

So, sometimes the thing

that works against us,

God uses to bless us.

And he probably never

would have foreseen that.

(Jason) So maybe God uses

his previous captivity as a 17-year-old,

now much later in his life

to actually be a blessing and allow him

some credibility. Jonathan?

(Jonathan) Just that the things

of God are very practical.

I mean, Daniel is a follower of God

and he is a prophet,

but he also is a very practical leader

who is leading a huge kingdom

and definitely dealing

with complex things, of solving problems

of the first major capital of the world.

(Jason) All right, and we see

that these guys, his fellow leaders,

for whatever reason, Daisy referenced

they might have some

of their own selfish interests.

They are trying to find fault with Daniel,

and yet what does it say about him?

Are they able to find any fault?

(Team) No.

(Jason) No fault, but let's continue

to see how they find fault,

in a way, with him,

and I'd like to ask Nicole

if you could read for us verse 5 here.

Let's see how they attempted

to find fault with Daniel.

(Nicole) Daniel 6, verse 5,

in the New King James Version says:

(Jason) Now what does it
sound like to you,

the only charge that could be found

against the law of his God?

Stephanie, when you hear that,

that must do something for you.

(Stephanie) To me, what they were saying

is that, "We can't find

anything against him unless it's related

to his relationship with God

and how he is committed to God."

So that's how I see that verse.

(Jason) Derek.

(Derek) I'm thinking, Jason,

I would be honored if someone

said that about me or about any of us,

that, "The only thing that we can find

that we would criticize them for

is how devoted they are to God."

(Jason) Yes, that would be amazing.

I know, honestly for myself,

that's not my case.

I have my own errors and faults,

but that's amazing that they

were able to say that,

"He's without error fault unless it has

something to do with his God." Daisy?

(Daisy) The New Living Translation says,

"Unless they found something

that had to do with the rules
of his religion."

So they were really going after something

that they could find that would conflict

with the rules of the land.

So the rules of religion

versus the rules of the land...

(Jason) So something about his faith

versus something about the government.

And that could be a situation

we might even deal with today.

Now, the conclusion

that these guys come to

shows that they were genuinely,

even if it was not in the best way,

they were genuinely aware

of how Daniel was acting.

And maybe even if they weren't

genuine seekers after truth,

there apparently are some people
in the story,

one I can think of in particular,

who is a genuine seeker after truth.

And so our lives are

constantly being examined,

whether by jealous people around us

who may not be seeking truth,

or those who are seeking truth.

So I'd like to make it practical

and ask someone or several on the team,

how can we ensure that we're providing

a faithful witness like Daniel was?
Yes, Jonathan.

(Jonathan) I was just thinking

that people are watching us,

and maybe sometimes

things that we would be tempted
to bend corners on

and even simple things...

Yeah, how do we deal with traffic laws?

I mean, simple things like that.

I mean, can people truly say of us

that there is nothing

that we can be "caught" in?

(Jason) Patricia.

(Patricia) I just think we have

to make sure that our connection

with God is a priority for us.

Like the Bible says that the branches

must be connected to the vine.

(Jason) Amen. Gary?

(Gary) I was going to say,

looking back at Daniel's life,

in Daniel 1 he made a commitment

before he was taken captive, right?

He set his mind to God

and to always follow Him,

even in the smallest of tasks.

I think it begins there; we commit to God

even our small, insignificant
(supposedly) tasks

and actions and behaviors,

and He will bless from there.

(Jason) So being faithful

in the little things. Yes, Jonathan.

(Jonathan) Sometimes I think

I don't know why Satan

doesn't get tired of fighting against God.

He always loses; God always wins.

He tries here to destroy

His "only" faithful servant

that was in Babylon,

and yet God uses that to show us that He

had a genuine and faithful witness.

So, I just don't know

how he doesn't get tired.

(Jason) Nicole.

(Nicole) I would also say

that we're not perfect,

and when we fall, people need to see

that we are still clinging to the vine.

And so, I think when people watch you,

and they say, "Oh, she stumbled,"

they'll then say, "But then she clung

even closer to Jesus

to get herself standing back up again."

So I think that's also important
for us to think of.

(Jason) And that's a good witness, too.

So even people aren't able

to say necessarily, "He/she is

without error or without fault,"

by God's grace, God sees us that way

as we let Him take control of our lives
and guide us.

Let's continue now in the story

because there are some tactics
that are used.

And I would like to ask Rick

if you could read for us

Daniel, chapter 6, verses 6 through 9.

And as Rick reads, look at what are

some of the tactics that are used

to pressure the king

in this situation related to Daniel.

(Rick) All right, I'm reading

from the New Living Translation:

(Jason) Oof! That's a bit

of a scary situation.

But let's look through

and let's unpack that a little bit

to see what happened.

You see that there are certain tactics

that these government officials used.

What are some of the things you notice?

Nicole, you're smiling;

you caught some things in there.

(Nicole) I'm trying to think of the word,
but they basically...

(Jonathan) Flattered.

(Nicole) Flattered, that's right.
Flattery.

(Jason) Jonathan sees flattery there.

All right, so they have flattery,

"O King, live forever."

And you'll notice that is
a phrase they use,

but what we can see from these guys,

we don't know how much

they really mean it.

Daisy has hinted as much. Yes, Stephanie.

(Stephanie) Well, they lied.

(Jason) They lied.

(Stephanie) They said that all

of the presidents of the kingdom

and governors and princes

came together and made this decision.

(Jason) All right, so they used

the arguments of the crowd,

even though there wasn't
actually the crowd.

Someone else, any other tactics

that you see being used here?

Travis, what are some tactics
you see here?

(Travis) They're trying to get the king

to exalt himself, actually,

to be proud and boastful even of himself.

And it seems like King Darius

wasn't necessarily a proud king,

but yet they're saying,

"We want to make a decree

that people will worship you
and you only."

And, you know, when people start
admiring you,

you sometimes get into that

thinking, "I'm not so bad.

Maybe people should be looking at me."

(Jason) Jonathan?

(Jonathan) It reminds me of Nebuchadnezzar

the first king of Babylon,

and almost like maybe, you know,

invader, new to Babylon, and he's like,

"Oh, how do they act here?"

And it's like, "This is the way
to act here."

(Jason) This is the way to act,

all proud and powerful. Daisy?

(Daisy) It was clear

that they were feeding his pride

because the king purposely selected them

to oversee these provinces

in his administration

for his best interest.

When they come up with this plan,

he's thinking, "Okay, this
is for my best interest,"

but they had ulterior motives.

(Jason) That's right. Gary.

(Gary) The tactic of using the government

to establish worship

against everyone else's way of worship.

(Jason) The tactic of the government

using the laws of the land

to try to push some kind of influence

of how a person can worship. Yes, Sean.

(Sean) I was just going to say,
they didn't say

this decree would last just forever.

Well, it's established forever
in their minds,

but it's only for 30 days,

and if this king was such a humble king,

it would have raised alarm

if it went on for 60, 90, so many days

because he would have time to think,

"What's going on here?"

But they kept it short and sweet.

(Jason) Short and sweet,

so, be careful when someone

gives you something that looks

short and sweet and good.

There may be ulterior motives behind,

particularly if that's a person

that's jealous and not guided

by the Holy Spirit,

as these guys clearly are not.

Well, now Daniel is going to be faced

with a very difficult situation.

The good news is we've seen Daniel

at other points in the book of Daniel,
and his friends,

and we've seen how they

have handled difficult situations.

And so, Stephanie, I'd like

if you could read for us

Daniel, chapter 6, verse 10,

and let us see how does Daniel

react to the situation.

What does he do when he

is now faced with this difficult situation

that these jealous people

have used against him?

(Stephanie) And I'll be reading

from the King James Version:

(Jason) So, how does Daniel

react to this situation?

Do you see him do anything crazy or panic?

Gary, you're shaking your head.

(Gary) It seems like he's doing

what he's always done,

which was praising God

and worshiping Him

as he's always done in the past.

(Jason) He's doing what he's
always done. Travis.

(Travis) I see the same boldness

in Daniel as I saw in the three men
before the fire.

They didn't even hesitate.

You know, there was a decree, like,

"If you worship the image,

you won't be thrown into the fire,"

and they just halted,

"We're not doing it."

And here Daniel has

the same spirit in him, "You know what?

The decree is signed;

I'm going to worship my God."

(Jason) Adison.

(Adison) Daniel serves as a prime example

of Christian fearlessness

and fidelity to the truth.

(Jason) Fidelity to the truth. Jonathan.

(Jonathan) The previous lesson
we were looking at,

someone was trying to bribe Daniel
with reward,

and now they're trying to use fear.

And it's like Daniel's not about that.

It's like, "Whatever the King

of the universe calls me to do,

that's my calling," and that's his focus.

(Jason) "That's my calling." Nicole.

(Nicole) Just a little deeper,

he's practiced this his entire life,

and so nothing could stop him

from doing it, even with a decree.

And I think that's something

for us practically today.

We have to be practicing the things

that Christ wants us to do

so we can do it when the test comes

for us to actually be able to do it.

(Jason) Practice, preparation.

Now, question, though.

It seems Daniel, he's got

to be aware of these intentions.

He can't be ignorant to what's going on.

When he finds out, why does he

continue doing his custom?

Why doesn't he try

to expose what's going on

because he's in a powerful position.

He would have the opportunity

to, say, fight for his rights

or defend himself against this injustice,

and yet Daniel chooses not to do that.

What's going on here? Nicole, why not?

(Nicole) Because he completely trusts

in the Person that he serves.

He knows that God's going
to take care of him

no matter what these folks throw at him.

It's not going to touch him
if God is in control,

whether it's death, whether it's life.

And so, we have to have that spirit.

No matter what happens around us,

if we have a relationship with God,

nothing can touch us.

(Jason) Daisy.

(Daisy) I actually have a verse

if we could read it.

(Jason) Sure, go ahead

and give us a minute to find it;
what is the verse?

(Daisy) It's Psalm 118.

(Jason) Psalm 118.

(Daisy) Verse 6.

(Jason) Verse 6, 118, verse 6,

and what version do you have?

(Daisy) I have the New Living Translation.

(Jason) All right, you're going to read
Psalm 118, verse 6

from the New Living Translation.

You've got a verse that answers

this question about what Daniel
is facing here.

(Daisy) Yes, and it says:

So, if you know the God that you worship,

people don't scare you.

Like, He has so much power,

He says, "Mere people,

what can they do to you?"

(Jason) Now I do have to ask

another question along this line

because there's this phrase,

"Be wise as a serpent,
harmless as a dove."

So some people could say,

"All right, Daniel, that's good

that you pray to God,

but why not just, you know,

maybe stare out the window a little bit

and say some nice words

and throw a prayer during that time?

Why not try to sneak it in a little bit?

You know, you don't want to cause harm;

you don't want to cause problems."

So why isn't Daniel trying to find a way

to submit to the law

without causing too much offense?"

Because there are people

who have given advice like that

at different times. Nicole.

(Nicole) Because his plan

isn't to not offend man.

His plan is to please God.

And if he believes that pleasing God

is sitting at the window and praying

as he has always done,

he's not going to change that for man.

(Jason) Daisy.

(Daisy) I see that the attack

was not even to Daniel.

Now they were attacking his God,

and so he was going to let God

fight the battle for him

and not he himself.

(Jason) Amen. Travis.

(Travis) This was Daniel's practice.

It just said in the verse that we read

it was his practice.

So, to deviate from his practice

would have not only shown weakness,

but it would have shown that he

didn't trust his God.

(Jason) Sean.

(Sean) I don't want to say

Daniel was hiding from anything,

but he was doing this in his own home.

It wasn't like he just decided

to pray in front of the king

and be like, "Ha, whatever you say."

He was home in his own private time,

and we'll get to it, but people

are seeking you out

at your place of personal worship.

So I don't think he had to deviate.

He was doing what his conscience
wanted to do,

which was serve God.

(Jason) Jonathan.

(Jonathan) I think he knew where was

the safest place during the trial.

He knew Jesus; he knew God,

and he knew that during that trial,

being near to Jesus was the safest place.

So when we know God,

when trials come, we will always remain

in the safest place we know.

That's why he was always near

to God during that trial.

(Jason) Amen. Now this story,

it actually seems kind of similar.

There are some similarities to the tests

that Daniel's three friends faced

a couple of chapters earlier

on the plain of Dura.

So someone want to tell me, from the team,

where they see some similarities

with this situation?

There's this pattern

that seems to kind of be emerging.

What are some similarities, Nicole,
that you're seeing

between what the three friends faced

and what Daniel is now about to face?

(Nicole) Well, the three friends,

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego,

on the plain of Dura faced either death

or serving the true living God.

And I think Daniel's going to have
that same situation,

death or serve that true living God.

And they had come to the realization

that even in death you're not going

to separate me from my true living God.

That's the decision that they
have to make.

(Jason) Amen. Rick

(Rick) I'm sure that Daniel

would have been thinking about this.

I mean, it's a very similar situation

where, like you said, he
could have hidden.

The guys, Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abed-Nego,

could have bent down and tied their shoes.

I mean, you can always find an excuse,

but he knows God is with you
in the furnace.

God is with you in the trial.

(Jason) Travis.

(Travis) One thing that I saw

that is similar between them

is that none of them

ever thought of compromise, never.

(Derek) And they're both idols.

One's a golden idol,

and one's a living idol,

but they're both a direct transgression

of a commandment of God

that you should not bow down to an idol.

So, the situation in some ways...

Yeah, they're not together,

but they've decided, they've purposed

in their own hearts,

whether they're with the group
or on their own,

that they will honor God

in every situation.

(Jason) Now I'd like to ask

if there is anyone on the team,

because there have been situations

in our lives where maybe a person,

an organization, someone tried

to coerce us, tried to get us to act

in a way contrary to the Word of God.

And so I just want you to think through,

does anyone have a story in their lives

where they might have faced

something like that

and how you might have responded?

Does anyone on the team have a story

where someone tried to get you

to act contrary to God's Word

through force, through coercion?

Does anyone have a testimony? Gary.

(Gary) It's been a while, but I remember

when I was in college

I was an engineer, computer engineer,

and I had several assignments

due at 11:59:59 on Friday night.

And, you know, I was trying

to do well in school,

and it would be Friday.

I was not the best programmer,

and it would be Friday afternoon,

and I'm still at the lab,

and I notice it's almost sunset,

and I know I want
to keep the Sabbath holy.

I need to finish up

and turn in my assignment.

I remember one particular example,

for the life of me I thought

I only had it 50 percent done,

and I said, "God, this is all

I can do right now; I don't have
any more time.

I'm going to submit it."

I turned it in, I kept the Sabbath,

had a wonderful rest from school,

from work, from anything.

I got a B-plus on the assignment,

and I was like, "Oh, God, thank You

so much for rewarding that decision."

But, yeah, it was my grade.

(Jason) So you were faithful.

You had the opportunity to go

with what your organization,

in this case your school,

would have liked you to do,

which was finish it all,

no matter what God's Sabbath said,

but you decided to hold God's Law,

your religious convictions,

higher than the laws of man. Yes, Sean.

(Sean) Kind of a similar story,

but the end part of it

where there's a twist

where I finished my final degree,

and there was a get-together

at our professor's house.

And at some point in time
alcohol came out.

And they said, "Well, to celebrate,

you have to take a drink."

And the room...I don't know
why it happened,

but the room just got silent.

And I'm like, "Really."

And in a graduate lab,

you spend a lot of time with folks,

an unhealthy amount of time

with folks in a graduate lab.

And there was one person in particular

who was looking at me

because I've told him many times before,

"I don't drink," I've told him why;

we've discussed spiritual topics,

and it's like we locked eyes.

And all that's going through my head

is, "I'm not going to drink."

You know, "I'm not going
to take this drink,"

but I felt like he was looking at me

to see what I would do.

And I didn't, and then all of a sudden,

I don't know what it was,

it was like the room just filled
back with noise

after I said, "Nah, I'm good.

I'm not going to do that."

And I just felt relieved

at least that I didn't fail Someone else,

you know, showing them that, "Look,

you don't have to do

or give in to certain types
of peer pressure.

(Jason) And that's a powerful witness

because we don't know

who all is watching us.

As here in the story with Daniel,

we don't know who all can be touched

and impacted by our witness.

Let's look real quickly at a situation

in the New Testament

that the apostles faced.

And I'd like to ask Jonathan

if you could read for us

Acts, chapter 5, verses 26 through 29,

and then also finishing off there,
41 through 42.

There's a situation the apostles faced

that can give us some principles

on how to deal with situations

like the one that Daniel was facing there.

(Jonathan) All right, I'll be reading

from the English Standard Version:

And then 41:

(Jason) So, what are some lessons

you see there from the verses

that Jonathan just read?

Jonathan, you saw some lessons in there.

(Jonathan) Yeah, just that we

obey God rather than man.

(Jason) We obey God rather than man.
Yes? Daisy.

(Daisy) The previous verse, 40,

says that they got beaten up;
they got flogged.

And then after that they're saying,

"You know what? It's a privilege

to suffer for Jesus Christ,"

and they went and did it again.

It takes a lot of courage.

And, again, knowing who you serve

to be able to do that.

(Jason) "Knowing who you serve."

And what was their reaction?

They were told even in one of the verses

not to preach Jesus.

How does it say they finished?

What did they keep doing it says...?

(Team) Continue preaching.

(Jason) They kept preaching anyway.

Yes, they kept right on going.

And so, let's see now, let's continue

in the story of Daniel, what happens.

And I would like to ask Travis

if you could read for us,

back to Daniel, chapter 6,

and we're looking at verses 11 through 13.

Let's see what happens in the story.

We know that Daniel

has prayed, as is his custom,

and let's see how the story continues.

(Travis) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version:

(Jason) Interesting. Nicole,

you have some thoughts,

reading that section there.

(Nicole) I just don't know how they say,

"That Daniel," as if it's a thing?

They're so disgusted by him

and by what he stands for

and how it reflects on them

that they just..."That Daniel,"
I just thought...

(Jason) "That Daniel." Yes, Daisy.

(Daisy) And, just Daniel,

they didn't refer to him

as an official, a top official.

They dug down deep

to his, shall I say, prisoner status.

What does it say, "That guy

who was a captive."

So they didn't even acknowledge

his high position as an official.

They just made him look like

some useless person.

(Jason) "Made him look like
some useless person."

And when they came before the king,

so they found him praying,

how did they enter before the king?

Did they go and immediately point him out

or what is the first thing

they did with the king?

This kind of shows, you know,

that they're not foolish

in what they're doing? Yes, Travis.

(Travis) They pointed out that he

had signed a decree that could not change.

That's the first thing...

(Daisy) Reinforce and make sure

that he himself restates what he said

so he cannot go back on it

and say, "Oh, that was an accident,"
or something.

(Jason) So it's quite clear here

that these guys are definitely working

on setting up this trap.

They really want to get Daniel.

And it also may seem clear

that this is more than just human power.

There's something going on
behind the scenes.

These evil men are guided by a spirit

that's allowing them to apparently be

very effective, it seems,

in what they're trying to do.

And now we have to see

what is the king's reaction.

And I'm going to ask Daisy

if you could read for us

Daniel, chapter 6, verses 14 through 18.

Let's see how does the king react

to these jealous government officials

when he finds out he's been trapped.

(Daisy) All right, I'll be reading

from the New Living Translation:

(Jason) All right, so there's

a lot happening in that section,

but what do we see here?

How does the king react, first of all,

when he finds out he's been trapped?

What is his first method,

the first thing he tries to do, Stephanie?

(Stephanie) I think he's upset
with himself.

He recognizes the trap

he got himself into.

(Jason) He's upset with himself.

He recognizes the trap. Nicole.

(Nicole) He tries to figure out a way,

if there's any way,

to try and reverse what he's done

because he realizes that Daniel is going

to be on the receiving end of his decree.

(Jason) So he tries to maybe use the law

to change the law.

He's trying to use some

of the same tactics

these men used to get him in,

to try to rescue Daniel. Yes, Rick.

(Rick) The thing that struck me
in these verses

is how much the king loves Daniel.

(Derek, Team) Yes.

(Rick) I think their jealousy
was well founded.

There is obviously a relationship here

because if he's not sleeping

or eating or whatever,

this is a close friendship.

(Jason) Travis.

(Travis) The thing that gets me most

about these verses that we just read

is the power of a witness.

The example of a witness,

of somebody who is connected

continually with God.

My version says the king said,

"Your God whom you serve continually,

He will deliver you."

Like Darius had found faith in God

through the examples and witnesses
of Daniel,

and that just blows my mind.

Darius had faith that the lions

would not hurt him.

(Jason) Jonathan.

(Jonathan) And he's fasting,

like he's expressing faith, he's fasting.

I mean, he's a follower of God.

(Jason) He fasting basically. Yes, Daisy.

(Daisy) He had hope that Daniel

could come through this without a scratch.

(Jason) So this is clearly a man who,

while he may not be entirely converted,

the witness of Daniel

is really impacting his life,

and he's starting...you can see

the process of conviction

starting to happen over him,

and he's starting to confess some things

that no pagan king would confess.

So, what is our best course of action?

Because you see how Daniel

responds in this situation.

He basically allows himself

to be brought in this way.

But what is our best course of action

when we realize we've been caught

in a trap that's been laid by the enemy?

Because you see King Darius,

he tries to use the rules, the laws.

He tries to think about how he can

get out of this trap,

but what is the best course of action

for us as people of faith, as Christians,

when we find out that the enemy

has laid a trap for us

and we're caught? Adison.

(Adison) Pray, praying
for unusual wisdom,

saying, "God, help me in this situation,

and I need Your help."

(Derek) And you know I think

the king is doing that, too,

because he was also caught in a trap.

And as Rick pointed out,

or maybe Jonathan, was that he's fasting.

So, I think he's also calling

out to the God of Heaven and saying,

"I cannot resolve this situation,
but You can."

So whether we're like Daniel or the king,

we've got both of them

setting an example for us,

that, "God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble,"

I think, as the psalmist says.

(Jason) Patricia.

(Patricia) Here in verse 14,

it says that the king tried,

and he labored all day to deliver Daniel,

but then he comes to the point

where he said, "Your God,

who you serve continually,

He will deliver you."

So he came to the point that he said,

"I am the king, and I am powerful,

but there's nothing in this situation

that I can do, but your God can."

(Jason) Nicole.

(Nicole) I think we have to get
to the point

where we believe God is God,

and that's the end of it.

He is God, and so whatever
is going to happen,

we have to believe that He is

who He says He is.

(Jason) Sean.

(Sean) I was just going to say,

in Matthew, chapter 5,

if you go all the way down to verse 43

and the next couple of verses,

it just talks about how we should react.

So, we may be thrown off by the trap,

but it talks about praying

for your enemies and those

who are trying to persecute you.

And I can only hope that Daniel

was doing the same thing for the king

because this is his soul salvation

on the line, as well,

and we see the steps toward him
being converted.

What a wonderful opportunity for Daniel.

(Jason) So, rather than,

back to this idea of thinking
about ourselves,

how we can protect ourselves,

think about how we can be a witness

to someone who maybe needs

to grow in their spiritual walk,

someone who needs to see us

as an example of Jesus there.

And let's continue now,

and I'd like to ask Adison

if you could read for us

Daniel, chapter 6, verses 19 and 20.

Let's see what happens

further in the story

after a night with the lions.

(Adison) And I'm reading

from the King James Version:

(Jason) Daisy, what do you see here

in the behavior of the king

and how he is reacting?

What do you notice there?

(Daisy) He had faith because, I mean,

somebody could have said,

"Well, that's it. You're in the pit.

There are no two ways.

Those lions are going to tear you up."

But he still had faith

that there was a possibility

that the God whom Daniel was serving

could save his life.

And that was the question he asked.

He says, "Was your God able to save you?"

He was waiting for confirmation

that his hopes and his faith were true.

(Jason) Amen.

(Derek) I think that's a good point,
Jason.

I think he's grieving,

not because he doesn't think God's able,

but he's grieving over the fact

that he was trapped

that put his beloved counselor

in that bad situation.

But he wouldn't have called out

if he didn't believe it was possible.

So, that is a call of faith

when he calls out, "O Daniel."

(Jason) Yes, and, Gary,

we need to continue on to see

how Daniel responds,

so please read for us

chapter 6, verses 21 and 22.

Let's see how Daniel responds.

(Gary) Okay, and I'll be reading

from the King James Version,
Daniel 6:21-22:

(Jason) That's a pretty amazing testimony,
Travis.

What impresses you the most about that

when you hear Daniel's response

after a night with the lions?

(Travis) As I was reading that,

I almost had tears in my eyes

thinking, "God, I want to be like Daniel."

I want to have that kind of faith.

(Jason) That kind of faith,

that kind of courage. Stephanie.

(Stephanie) He respects the king,

"O king, live forever."

And then his next response was,

"My God has sent His angel."

(Jason) "My God has sent

His angel." Jonathan.

(Jonathan) It is interesting

the reasons that he gave.

"There was no guilt found within me,"

and also, "I've done nothing
to you, as well."

Both...Our relationship with God,

yeah, God does honor us based on that,

but also, in talking to you,

we were talking about this earlier,

it was interesting that here Daniel

waits to defend himself.

And he kind of lets God
do the defending.

And then he makes the point like,

"Yeah, I didn't do anything wrong."

He didn't focus on that initially.

(Jason) So there's nothing wrong

with saying, "I'm innocent;

I didn't do wrong," but the focus

has to be not on ourselves.

(Jonathan) Honoring God.

(Jason) Honoring God.

And now, let's see

how the story concludes.

Stephanie, if you could read for us

Daniel, chapter 6, verses 23 through 28,

let's see how the story ends,'

and let's hear this beautiful message
in testimony.

(Stephanie) And I will be reading

from the King James Version:

(Jason) Amen. Jonathan.

(Jonathan) Yeah, it just strikes me

that, maybe, just like Nebuchadnezzar
went through this process,

that maybe he's kind of going
through a process as well.

Like, he's saying, okay, that, "Everyone
should tremble and fear

before the God of Daniel."

I mean, certainly he has faith
that God can do it,

but, okay, you take all the people,

and you throw them into the lions' den,

and you kill all the people,

like, that's not how God works.

God doesn't need to kill everybody

in order to demonstrate

that He had power over the lions.

But it seems like he is beginning

to realize God's mercy...
hasn't gotten there.

(Jason) "He's beginning to realize
God's mercy."

And I'd like to challenge you.

Maybe you might face a point in your life

where you might have

your own lions' den

that you'll go through.

We know through Earth's history

that we may face challenges,

whether they be at work, home,

even from our own families.

I'd like to ask you

that when that situation comes,

have the Holy Spirit give you the courage

just as He gave Daniel

so that He can turn your lions' den

into the angel's den.

(Derek) Well, thank you, Jason.

And thank you for joining us

for Hope Sabbath School today.

It's an amazing story.

Many of us heard it as children,

and we thought it was great

that Daniel survived.

But I learned today that a king

was blessed by the witness
of a man of God.

And he does say, "the God of Daniel,"

but then he says, "He is the living God,"

so that's a personal testimony, isn't it?

Isn't it amazing that God could use

even our adversities to provide

a witness to those around us.

I don't know what you're dealing with,

but I'm just going to pray

that, like Daniel, we,

men and women of God,

would be faithful that through us

a witness would be given

to draw others closer to God.

Let's pray; Father in Heaven,

we're inspired by the story

and by the fact that You can work

all things for good to those who love You.

We're thankful that this king

was blessed and drawn closer

to the one true God.

Whatever trial we may face,

may we be firm in our trust in You,

that those around us

would also be drawn closer to you,

is our prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Thanks for joining us

for Hope Sabbath School.

New lessons from an ancient story.

We're not done with the book.

Now we go into some great prophecies,

which are so relevant for our lives today.

But from the story

of Daniel in the Lions' Den,

take a message and be a blessing

to those around you.

♪ theme music ♪