{"id":11183,"date":"2017-11-11T04:00:15","date_gmt":"2017-11-11T09:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/?p=11183"},"modified":"2017-12-17T13:18:52","modified_gmt":"2017-12-17T18:18:52","slug":"intentional-discipleship-bible-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/intentional-discipleship-bible-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Intentional Discipleship Bible Study"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rev. Natalie Blake<\/strong>
\nSt. Andrew Parish Church Hall<\/em>
\nNovember 11, 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

A Reading of Daniel Chapter 6<\/strong>
\nCharacters \u2013 The king \u2013 the boss<\/strong>
\nWorker \u2013 Daniel<\/strong>
\nCo-workers \u2013 other presidents and satraps<\/strong>
\nSituation \u2013 Daniel was given a promotion:<\/strong><\/p>\n

6:1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred twenty satraps, stationed throughout the whole kingdom, 2 <\/sup>and over them three presidents, including Daniel; to these the satraps gave account, so that the king might suffer no loss.<\/em><\/p>\n

He became a senior manager \u2013 answering to the king<\/p>\n

Daniel\u2019s work ethic was so impeccable he was up for another promotion:<\/p>\n

6:3 <\/sup>Soon Daniel distinguished himself above all the other presidents and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king planned to appoint him over the whole kingdom.<\/em><\/p>\n

Even when co-workers looked for cause to complain about his work \u2013 they found none<\/p>\n

6:4 <\/sup>So the presidents and the satraps tried to find grounds for complaint against Daniel in connection with the kingdom. But they could find no grounds for complaint or any corruption, because he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption could be found in him.<\/em><\/p>\n

Daniel lived a God-centred life not just at home, but even at work so that his values were reflected in every aspect of his life<\/p>\n

That is what is required of the Christian worker \u2013 we must distinguish ourselves, living out the Christian life, even in the workplace \u2013 we too must be faithful, not negligent nor corrupt.<\/p>\n

Additionally, our co-workers should know the basis for our value system, that our identities are bound up in Christ \u2013 that we follow God. If anything \u2013 let that be our main fault \u2013 that we are faithful to God.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless \u2013 it is easy to follow Jesus and show faith in God when all is going well \u2013 how do Christian workers respond when we are challenged because of our faith? Are we willing to sacrifice anything\/ everything for the sake of our faith?<\/p>\n

In verses 5-13 Daniel\u2019s co-workers conspired to make some trouble for him. They recognised that he had religious values \u2013 they put him in the difficult position of choosing between worshipping his God and keeping his job and his life.<\/p>\n

They inveigled the king (boss) to prepare and execute an interdict for everyone to pray only to the king for 30 days:
\nFor others, this was no big deal, but for Daniel, it was the ultimate test of his faithfulness to God.<\/p>\n

Daniel\u2019s Choices:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Daniel could have \u2013 chosen to avoid the potential conflict \u2013  <\/span>by not praying to anyone within the time.
\nOr he could have compromised and prayed to the king –
\nHe could have said \u2013 God will understand that this is what I need to do to keep my job, then deal with the resulting guilt.<\/p>\n

Our Response to Ethical Dilemmas:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

How do we as Christians respond to the ethical dilemmas that sometimes come up within the workspace?
\n[Share stories of issues Christians have faced]<\/p>\n

Will we say that there are things we are not willing to do to keep our jobs
\nThe things that go against the values that are inspired by Jesus are the things that we ought not to be willing to do \u2013<\/p>\n

Daniel\u2019s Response:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Daniel chose to be faithful \u2013 He continued to go up on his roof and pray to God.<\/p>\n

He had a regular prayer life, and his response to the ethical dilemma that he faced was to remain faithful to it.<\/p>\n

Daniel had no support from his boss (the king) who basically told him \u2013 his hands were tied \u2013 the interdict had been signed and he had to execute it. He could not afford to lose face.<\/p>\n

Daniel was therefore totally reliant on God.<\/p>\n

Seeds of Faith:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

But note the statement made by his boss as he sent him to the lions:<\/p>\n

6:16 The king said to Daniel, \u201cMay your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Here was a man who was not a believer \u2013 yet the seeds of faith appeared to be taking root in him. He had concern for his worker Daniel \u2013 he cared within himself. (He did not eat nor sleep 6:18)<\/p>\n

Lions \u2013 The Consequences of our Decisions\/ Actions<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The lions that we face in our lives are the consequences of choosing to remain faithful. Others watch to see if we will remain faithful under that adversity and whether God will indeed deliver us.<\/p>\n

How we face the situations of great trial can draw others to faith \u2013 as the martyrs of the church did \u2013 and it was not that God prevented them from being killed \u2013 but rather that they faced their death with words of faith on their lips \u2013 refusing to give up the confession of their beliefs to save their lives. They refused to compromise and lose their souls to save their lives.<\/p>\n

The boss was relieved that Daniel was still alive in the morning, Daniel\u2019s response was:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Respectful \u2013 O King, live forever<\/li>\n
  • Full of praise for his God \u2013 he claimed God \u2013 \u201cMy God\u2026\u201d he had a relationship with God \u2013<\/li>\n
  • Daniel shared his testimony, using the opportunity that was now available to him \u2013 he made it clear that it was God who delivered him. Now he spoke freely about his experience of God<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    6:22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions\u2019 mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    What about the co-workers and their families: They had no faith support \u2013 therefore when they faced the consequences of their actions \u2013 again symbolised by the lions \u2013 they were overpowered and crushed (6:24).<\/p>\n

    Faith is shared and then passed on:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

    The faithful but not overt action of Daniel commended his faith to his boss who then instructed his people to fear (respect) the God of Daniel.<\/p>\n

    25 <\/sup>Then King Darius wrote to all peoples and nations of every language throughout the whole world: \u201cMay you have abundant prosperity! 26 <\/sup>I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel:<\/em><\/p>\n

    For he is the living God,<\/em>
    \n     enduring forever.<\/em>
    \n His kingdom shall never be destroyed,<\/em>
    \n     and his dominion has no end.<\/em>
    \n 27 <\/sup>He delivers and rescues,<\/em>
    \n     he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth;<\/em>
    \n for he has saved Daniel<\/em>
    \n     from the power of the lions.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    The story of Daniel read from this perspective makes it clear that we do not need to be overt in our show of faith, but we must be faithful\/ intentional in living out that faith. We do not need to wear our dresses to our ankles or put the Bibles prominently on our desks \u2013 or even to say to every other person that we are radical Christians.<\/p>\n

    We must be clear about our identity as Christians and be unwavering in our values which we must live out through our impeccable work ethic and behaviour.<\/p>\n

    We build trust when our actions and our words coincide – people will want to listen to us, therefore when the opportunities come to share about God\u2013 we can testify- share the Good News of Jesus as we have experienced God for ourselves and commend belief in God to others and thereby disciple a co-worker or even a boss.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Rev. Natalie Blake St. Andrew Parish Church Hall November 11, 2017 A Reading of Daniel Chapter 6 Characters \u2013 The king \u2013 the boss Worker \u2013 Daniel Co-workers \u2013 other presidents and satraps Situation \u2013 Daniel was given a promotion: 6:1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred twenty satraps, stationed throughout the whole kingdom, 2 and over them three presidents,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-resources","category-intentional-discipleship","ctfw-no-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/610"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11183"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11187,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11183\/revisions\/11187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.anglicandioceseja.org\/copy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}