תעתיק 🔗
WEBVTT
00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:02.799
Daniel chapter 6.
00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:19.120
As we continue in our series in the biblical book of Daniel, we come to yet another passage in the book of Daniel where we find Daniel in a position of great risk and uncertainty.
00:00:19.839 --> 00:00:28.160
He has been in that position throughout the entire story, but especially so in this passage.
00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:32.159
He's in a position of great risk.
00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:37.280
How do you think about risk and uncertainty in your life?
00:00:37.679 --> 00:00:45.280
How do you react when you are in moments where the future seems especially unpredictable?
00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:56.159
As I thought about that question, and as I studied this passage this week, I thought about a movie that I saw many years ago.
00:00:56.320 --> 00:01:02.240
And in this movie, the main character, his job was a risk analyst.
00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:17.760
He worked for an insurance company, and his job was to analyze the risk that clients posed to the company, that the company would have to pay out some kind of insurance on them.
00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:22.640
He had to assess how safe they were, how safe their lifestyle was.
00:01:22.879 --> 00:01:29.760
And if they took out insurance with this company, what was the probability that the insurance company was going to have to pay out?
00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:34.959
He assessed people's risk for his job.
00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:43.519
And because his job was to analyze and to minimize risk, it was something that started to consume his whole life.
00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:47.599
For him, it wasn't just a job, it was a total way of life.
00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:55.519
He went through life with such a high level of hesitancy about anything that he barely lived.
00:01:55.840 --> 00:02:03.359
He knew about all sorts of obscure possibilities about how somebody could get injured or die.
00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:08.400
He knew the exact statistical probability of being run over by a bus.
00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:14.080
He knew the exact probability of contracting rare diseases.
00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:18.159
He knew the frequency of getting food poisoning.
00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:27.280
All sorts of situations consumed him, and he ordered his life around avoiding risk.
00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:38.080
His job, analyzing risks, spilled over into his personal life, and he made all of his decisions with the primary goal of minimizing any risk at all.
00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:46.000
In a sense, he focused so much just on staying alive that he didn't even really live.
00:02:55.840 --> 00:03:04.479
The primary purpose in life is not doing anything that could jeopardize security, safety, or comfortability, even.
00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:10.879
Now, of course, prudence and caution can be good things.
00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:13.840
I wear a helmet when I ride a bicycle.
00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:18.639
But sometimes risk can be worth it.
00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:24.080
Sometimes priorities more important than avoiding risk.
00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:36.319
And in Daniel chapter 6, we see that Daniel has a very different approach to analyzing and managing risk than this movie character that I just described.
00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:42.479
Daniel 6 gives us an instance where risk is worth it because there was a greater good.
00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:54.639
It shows us that Daniel didn't organize his life purely around avoiding risk or avoiding uncertainty, but Daniel ordered his life around honoring God.
00:03:55.520 --> 00:04:05.280
It's a challenge to each one of us to think about what our priorities are and what it is that we are willing to risk in order to obey God.
00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:18.800
We pick up the story of Daniel in chapter 6, and in verse 1, it tells us that King Darius appointed administrators to oversee his kingdom.
00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:22.079
And Daniel was one of the ones who was appointed.
00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:26.879
Now let's recap briefly a couple things that we've seen in the story of Daniel.
00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:33.759
The story of Daniel takes place in what's known as the exilic period of the Old Testament.
00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:39.040
Israel had been taken into captivity in Babylon as judgment on their sin.
00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:44.720
Daniel was one of the Israelites who was carried away to Babylon.
00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:48.800
And that happened to him when he was just a young teenager.
00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:53.839
He was brought to a foreign land where the customs and culture were unfamiliar.
00:04:54.079 --> 00:04:56.480
He was essentially a political prisoner.
00:04:56.800 --> 00:04:59.199
His faith in God wasn't respected.
00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:02.319
He'd just seen his homeland destroyed.
00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:09.920
And so he was in a place of extreme transition and uncertainty even from the very beginning.
00:05:10.160 --> 00:05:19.040
And yet, while he was in Babylon, he distinguished himself by his diligence and his faithfulness to God.
00:05:21.920 --> 00:05:27.279
When we come to this chapter, chapter 6, Daniel is no longer that young teenager.
00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:29.199
He's around 80 years old now.
00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:32.480
It's toward the latter years of his life.
00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:44.480
And he has seen not only his homeland be destroyed by Babylon, he's now seen Babylon be destroyed by Darius the Mede.
00:05:44.879 --> 00:05:54.639
In chapter 5, the end of Daniel chapter 5, we saw that the kingdom of Medo-Persia came and took over Babylon.
00:05:54.720 --> 00:06:05.439
And so Daniel has gone through yet another major transition and he has witnessed yet another war, which has brought Darius to the throne.
00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:17.360
So as we come to chapter 6, Daniel, being around 80 years old, has lived a life full of instability, transition, and uncertainty.
00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:22.560
And yet, through it all, he maintains a
Load full transcript
commitment to God.
00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:31.199
When Darius comes to power, Daniel was apparently a person of good reputation and reliability.
00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:35.360
So Darius appoints him as an administrator over a part of the kingdom.
00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:41.199
He essentially says, I'm going to be the king, but Daniel, you're going to rule this part of the kingdom on my behalf.
00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:45.040
It was a position of honor and trust.
00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:49.040
Daniel had distinguished himself.
00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:57.920
And yet the fact that Daniel was appointed in this position of honor apparently provoked a little bit of jealousy from some others.
00:06:58.160 --> 00:06:59.759
They felt left out.
00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:05.199
And so they've come up with a way to try to get Daniel in trouble.
00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:07.759
Verse 4, it says this.
00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:14.319
At this, that is Daniel being set up as an administrator.
00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:24.480
At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs.
00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:28.639
But they were unable to do so.
00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:38.720
They tried to find some kind of a charge that they could bring against Daniel, some kind of an accusation that would get him in trouble.
00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:44.399
But the text says that they could find no reason for a charge against him.
00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:54.399
Daniel maintained a good reputation and his character was above reproach.
00:07:55.519 --> 00:08:08.720
You know, Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, he said that the Christian shoemaker does not distinguish himself by putting crosses on all of the shoes that he makes.
00:08:08.879 --> 00:08:13.920
The Christian shoemaker distinguishes himself by making good quality shoes.
00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:34.559
In other words, in day-to-day life, in our areas of responsibility, wherever we may have them, one of the key ways that we can honor God is not by saying God's name all the time, although that could be a perfectly good thing to do, talking about God all the time, although that's a good thing to do.
00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:43.360
But one of the ways that we honor God is by fulfilling our responsibilities well and doing the job well that has been assigned to us.
00:08:44.960 --> 00:08:58.159
And what Martin Luther is getting at here is that even seemingly secular or seemingly unimportant aspects of life can be opportunities to honor God.
00:09:02.879 --> 00:09:17.600
Daniel distinguished himself as a leader, as a ruler, as a man of wisdom, and he earned the trust of Darius, who certainly was not following God.
00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:22.879
And yet, Darius could see that there was something different about Daniel.
00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:37.279
Daniel had distinguished himself, and the other people who were jealous of Daniel decide that if they can't accuse Daniel based upon legitimate grounds, well then they're going to have to accuse him simply of following God.
00:09:38.639 --> 00:09:46.720
Now this speaks well of Daniel's character, because the only charge that they could find against him was that he worshiped God.
00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:51.519
If people are going to accuse you of something, let it be that.
00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:54.399
That you worship the one true God.
00:09:55.440 --> 00:09:56.639
Verse 5.
00:09:56.879 --> 00:10:07.120
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.
00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:15.200
And so, in verses 6 through 9, they go to King Darius and they convince him to issue a decree.
00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:25.679
A decree that anybody who prays to any God or any other person except the king should be thrown into a den of lions.
00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:35.360
Now there's a bit of deja vu here because we've seen a very similar scenario already in the book of Daniel.
00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:52.320
In chapter 3, the story of the fiery furnace, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who by this point was long dead, King Nebuchadnezzar set himself up a huge golden statue and forced everybody to worship it.
00:10:53.840 --> 00:11:00.960
And Daniel's friends were protected through that as they refused to worship and experience the consequences.
00:11:01.360 --> 00:11:04.320
History has a way of repeating itself.
00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:06.639
We've seen this before.
00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:10.720
Darius apparently doesn't learn from Nebuchadnezzar's mistakes.
00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:13.120
He repeats those mistakes.
00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:23.200
And it says in verse 9, so King Darius put the decree in writing.
00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:31.120
A decree that anybody who worships anyone or anything other than Darius would be thrown into a den of lions.
00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:35.600
How does this impact Daniel?
00:11:36.879 --> 00:11:39.600
Daniel's now faced with a real risk.
00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:45.200
Darius is not somebody whom Daniel is going to worship.
00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:48.320
How does Daniel respond?
00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:49.840
Verse 10.
00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:59.600
Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem.
00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:08.720
Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he has done had done before.
00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:18.240
Daniel went about business as usual, worshiping God.
00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:28.159
Daniel didn't feel any need to change based upon the threat of being thrown into the den of lions.
00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:34.480
Daniel was well aware of the decree, but he didn't let that impact his worship of God.
00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:40.080
This was obviously a situation that posed great risk to him.
00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:46.960
And yet, he did
not make risk management his number one priority.
00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:54.720
If Daniel's number one priority was risk management, he would have gone right up to Darius and started worshiping that guy.
00:12:56.159 --> 00:12:57.919
He did the exact opposite.
00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:01.440
He continued with business as usual.
00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:09.200
Says in verse 10 that he prayed and he gave thanks to God just as he had done before.
00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:17.679
The threat from a lesser king didn't deter Daniel from worshiping the one true king.
00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:26.159
This is good news to Daniel's accusers.
00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:31.440
They got what they wanted.
00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:37.440
They found something that they could legitimately accuse him of.
00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:39.360
Worshiping God.
00:13:40.159 --> 00:13:43.039
And the accusers immediately seize on this opportunity.
00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:46.639
They remind Darius of his decree.
00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:49.039
They remind him of the decree.
00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:50.480
Verse 12.
00:13:51.600 --> 00:14:02.799
Did you not publish a decree that during the next 30 days anyone who prays to any God or human being except you, your majesty, would be thrown into the den of lions?
00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:06.720
The king answered, The decree stands.
00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:14.080
And then they tell King Darius that Daniel is guilty of violating the decree.
00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:22.480
Daniel is guilty of worshiping the one true God rather than this human king.
00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:29.519
Ironically, to Darius, this is terrible news.
00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:34.399
Darius is horrified about this.
00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:39.600
Darius is horrified, and he's suddenly concerned about Daniel.
00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:47.840
For Darius, this would be a huge loss because Daniel was such a great leader and administrator of the kingdom.
00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:54.799
But now Darius is trapped by his own decree.
00:14:55.039 --> 00:15:05.279
Because these accusers, after reminding Darius of his decree, also remind Darius that according to the law at the time, a decree from the king is irreversible.
00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:17.519
Verse 15, they say, Remember, your majesty, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.
00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:23.200
Darius tried to be in control.
00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:25.679
He tried to be all-powerful.
00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:30.799
And now, ironically, Darius is trapped by his own decree.
00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:35.600
It produced an outcome that even he didn't want.
00:15:35.840 --> 00:15:40.320
It now risks the life of one of his great workers, Daniel.
00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:51.200
Darius tried to be king, and yet he's trapped by his own decree.
00:15:52.000 --> 00:16:00.159
Sometimes, when we try to take charge of our own lives, we become trapped by our very schemes.
00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:05.840
The things that we think will bring us freedom and success actually ensnare us.
00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:16.639
When we live according to our own wisdom and way rather than the wisdom of God, it might look freeing, but it's actually a trap.
00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:20.240
The way to true freedom in the Christian life is submission.
00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:23.360
Submission to the one true God.
00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:34.320
Darius learned the hard way that trying to set himself up as king is actually a way of imprisoning himself.
00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:40.000
Because it spiraled out of control, and he's powerless to stop it now.
00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:42.559
He's going to lose one of his great administrators.
00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:46.960
As the story goes on, Daniel is thrown into the lion's den.
00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:56.639
Daniel is thrown into the lion's den, and yet, because there is another king who is in control, Daniel survives.
00:16:56.960 --> 00:17:04.000
The mouths of the lions are shut, and they cannot hurt Daniel.
00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:08.240
This is great news to Darius.
00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:14.960
In fact, Darius says in verse 16, May your God, whom you serve continually rescue you.
00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:20.400
Ironically, Darius is now in a position to admit, I tried to be king and I messed up.
00:17:20.480 --> 00:17:23.279
Now I'm going to have to appeal this to a higher king.
00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:29.200
And the one true God does indeed save Daniel.
00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:33.279
Verse 20.
00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:44.880
He came to Daniel, said, Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions.
00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:48.400
Verse 21, Daniel answered, May the king live forever.
00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:52.000
My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions.
00:17:52.160 --> 00:18:00.480
They have not hurt me because I was found innocent in his sight, nor have I ever done any wrong before you, your majesty.
00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:05.839
Daniel was vindicated in his trust of God.
00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:10.240
It was vindicated that he had done no wrong.
00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:21.039
And then in an ironic turn of events, those who had accused Daniel were the ones who were thrown into the lion's den and were eaten.
00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:30.160
Those who tried to control the situation saw the situation spin hopelessly out of control.
00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:39.039
Daniel, who simply trusted in God, saw God provide for him the entire way.
00:18:41.599 --> 00:18:46.480
Daniel clearly knew the risk that was involved in what he was doing.
00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:54.160
The text emphasizes that when Daniel continued praying to God, it was after he knew about the decree.
00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:59.119
He didn't just find himself trapped by a decree that he knew nothing about.
00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:05.599
Daniel knew the risk to his own life, and he
proceeded with worship as usual.
00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:12.079
Think back earlier to what I shared with you about the risk analyst in that movie.
00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:20.720
His entire life revolved around avoiding risk, calculating the chance of some catastrophe or awful thing happening.
00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:26.319
His job was to minimize and to analyze risk.
00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:29.359
And for him, that wasn't just a day job.
00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:31.359
It was a way of life.
00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:34.480
It was a way of life.
00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:44.640
The book of Daniel shows us somebody with a different approach.
00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:56.400
The book of Daniel shows us somebody with a different approach to risk.
00:19:57.039 --> 00:20:06.160
That risk is something sometimes to be avoided, but avoiding risk isn't the ultimate goal.
00:20:07.119 --> 00:20:10.640
Avoidance of risk cannot be our ultimate priority.
00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:17.440
When obeying God posed a risk, Daniel accepted the risk and continued obeying God.
00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:23.200
The ultimate priority was obedience, and if risk came with that, then so be it.
00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:27.519
What does this mean for us?
00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:32.160
We likely won't face something as dramatic as Daniel did.
00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:40.079
But we cannot let risk determine how far our obedience to God will go.
00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:45.519
We can't let risk stop us from obeying God.
00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:52.400
We can't say to God that we will obey right up until the risk becomes too great, and then we won't.
00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:57.119
Because partial obedience isn't obedience at all.
00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:05.440
We must be willing to obey God even when that means risk, just as Daniel did.
00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:11.279
Perhaps you feel comfortable right now in life.
00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:17.200
There's not a lot of risk, you feel secure, maybe financially, you feel secure about your future.
00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:28.720
If that's the case, if you if you feel comfortable, you don't feel like you face a lot of risk, then the challenge is to not let comfort turn into complacency.
00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:32.319
Don't let comfort turn into complacency.
00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:41.680
In other words, don't let your sense of comfort and security lull you into getting away from what God has called you to do with your life.
00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:48.240
Continue to be willing to get a bit uncomfortable for the sake of Christ.
00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:58.319
Continue to be willing to get uncomfortable if that means obedience to the will of God.
00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:04.480
Alternatively, maybe you are in a position of uncertainty or discomfort.
00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:14.160
You're facing financial pressure, unsecurity about your job, difficulty with relationships, other things that are going on in life, health issues.
00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:19.039
You feel very insecure right now, like life is upside down.
00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:24.640
The key is to maintain obedience in the face of such uncertainty.
00:22:25.279 --> 00:22:31.119
Don't let uncertainty about the future cause you to disobey God in the present.
00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:43.359
When we are in places of uncertainty and instability, it can be tempting to take unethical shortcuts or to give up trusting in God altogether.
00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:51.119
It can be easy to say, well, God's not a part of this anymore, so I'm on my own and take our life into our own hands.
00:22:51.920 --> 00:22:59.039
Sometimes the disobedience doesn't even come at the level of our actions, but at the level of our attitudes and thoughts.
00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:18.160
Outwardly, we might not be acting any different, but inwardly, we allow the circumstances around us to make us bitter, make us withdrawn, make us focus inward rather than outward, focus on our own comfort and security rather than on those around us.
00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:27.440
And so we're no longer as willing to reach out to other people, to help out, to sacrifice our time and resources for those in need.
00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:31.680
Because all of those things create an element of instability.
00:23:31.920 --> 00:23:39.599
We're no longer willing to reach out and form relationships with other people because relationships themselves bring about an element of instability.
00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:42.960
You can't control what other people are going to do.
00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:49.200
And so the easiest way to avoid risk is to simply not be in relationship with people.
00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:58.799
But if we do that, then we lose out on so many opportunities to be part of the mission that God has for us.
00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:09.599
We lose out on the blessing of knowing and being with other people, of blessing other people and of being blessed ourselves.
00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:23.920
When we're in places of uncertainty, it can be tempting to withdraw, to give up on God, or to start doing things that we know are against God's law.
00:24:24.880 --> 00:24:30.079
The passage calls us to obedience even in the face of uncertainty.
00:24:31.680 --> 00:24:48.319
I was recently talking with an individual, and as I was talking with this individual, uh it was somebody who I felt that I had needed to talk to about the gospel, that I needed to share Jesus with.
00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:17.359
Sometimes obedience means taking uncertain opportunities.
00:26:19.039 --> 00:26:21.440
And I don't know the result of that.
00:26:21.680 --> 00:26:25.119
I don't know if it really made an impact on that person or if it will.
00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:34.000
But looking back on it, I give thanks that the Holy Spirit pushed me and enabled me to obey in that point.
00:26:34.079 --> 00:26:40.720
Because I can tell you, there's been other instances in my life where I haven't done that, where I've not been that obedient.
00:26:43.039 --> 00:26:47.519
And part of the reason for that is because I like comfort and I like security.
00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:49.920
But God calls us beyond that.
00:26:50.160 --> 00:26:54.880
He calls us to obedience first and foremost, no matter the risk.
00:26:56.400 --> 00:26:58.240
Let me conclude with a quote.
00:26:58.400 --> 00:26:59.279
You may have heard it.
00:26:59.359 --> 00:27:01.519
It's uh I don't know who it's attributed to.
00:27:01.680 --> 00:27:11.440
It's a quote I've heard uh many times throughout the years, and it says this it says that life shrinks or expands in proportion to your courage.
00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:18.000
Life shrinks or expands in proportion to your courage.
00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:28.960
In other words, the more we are willing to step out with courage and accept risk, the more of life we get to experience.
00:27:29.680 --> 00:27:33.680
I'll maybe tweak that a little bit, put it in more explicitly Christian terms.
00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:40.880
I would say that our experience of God shrinks or expands in proportion to our faith.
00:27:42.079 --> 00:27:50.400
Our experience of God's power, of God's blessing, of God's providence shrinks or expands in proportion to our faith.
00:27:51.759 --> 00:28:05.440
When we are willing to step out in faith and trust God with the unknown, it gives us an opportunity to experience his provision and his power in a way that we wouldn't otherwise have been able to.
00:28:07.359 --> 00:28:21.279
And so as Christians, we're called not to be risky just for the sake of taking risk, not just to be daredevils for the sake of it, but we're called to trust and obey.
00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:30.160
We should be prudent and wise, not take risks unnecessarily, but we also shouldn't make risk avoidance our number one goal in life.
00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:33.279
Our number one goal in life should be honoring God.
00:28:33.519 --> 00:28:38.799
And let's let God worry about any risks that come along with obedience to Him.