A Place for Everyone

Message Transcription

We're in a series that we're actually finishing up today called All in the Family. We've been trying to think intentionally about how we try to live as a church in some ways that let everyone know that you have a place here, that you are a part of God's great family. We've been thinking some the last couple of weeks about young people and how challenging it can be, especially for a young person to find their place in the church today. We want to look at one other group. The title of the sermon is A Place for Everyone, and it certainly is true. But today I want us to take a look at actually the other end of the spectrum. To look at how we try to be a place that creates space and opportunity for our older members, our more senior members. Have you ever noticed in our culture these days, people don't like to get old. We don't like to grow old. There's something strange and discomforting about that. In fact, there are these things called anti-aging cream. Do you know of these things? Have you heard of this industry? Do you know how much money Americans spend on anti-aging stuff? Right around 65 billion or so dollars, they say worldwide. Or rather, that's worldwide. Globally. This year, they're estimating $71 billion will be spent on anti-aging. Even though you and I both know there is no such thing as anti-aging, you're always aging. And that's actually a really good thing.

If we read through Scripture, what we find is there's a lot of great things that come as a result of aging, but our culture wrestles with that. We struggle with that. I think a lot of that has to do with because it forces us to deal with this idea that we are mortal, that that one day we will breathe our last breath on this earth. And we don't like to think about that much. And what's powerful is how those beliefs and thoughts about aging and about growing older impact our physical and mental health. In fact, Dr. Becca Levy, who works at the Yale School of Public Policy, just released this book beginning of this year, where she looks just at this issue, breaking the age code. She titled it How Your Beliefs About Aging Determine How Long and Well You Live. Isn't that interesting? She found, looking through her studies, her colleagues together found that positive beliefs about the aging process actually impact help protect against dementia. Even in those who have the gene that makes you most high risk for that. They also found a study where seniors were better than middle aged folks at orienting their attention and ignoring distractions that often what we find the older you get, the better you become at regulating your emotions. There's a lot of wonderful things that's just scratching the surface of of the information that's found and contained in the wealth and the wisdom of learning how to grow old.

Like that's a really wonderful thing, but it can also be a negative thing in our culture, right? At least the views of it. In fact, she found that negative beliefs about the aging process are directly tied to the eight most expensive health care options or rather, health conditions among Americans things like heart disease and lung disease and diabetes and musculoskeletal disorders. She calculates that the cost of ageism. Of what our culture, what we call ageism, that's simply just looking down on someone or having prejudice bias against someone because of their age. She estimates that yearly we spend $63 billion trying to handle that. Trying to deal with that through health care, through mental health care, all kinds of struggles, because we don't know how. To deal with aging. But what I found maybe most compelling about her research is she said, So how do we deal with how do we battle this idea? How do we deal with ageism in our culture? How do we learn how to grow older gracefully? You know what her answer was from the data? Intergenerational relationships. Can you believe that? The solution to the problem is intergenerational relationships. As a church we go, Well, of course we've been doing this for years. For centuries we've understood the power of having older, wiser Christians come alongside, younger, struggling, sometimes not as educated Christians, to learn and grow in the faith. How important it is to have these intergenerational relationships.

In fact, if we read through Scripture, what we find are some amazing stories of how age was not a determining factor in God using someone to impact the world. I think about it this way. Do you remember how old Abraham was when he was first called to leave his home and to head to the Promised Land? When God said, I'm going to be I'm going to use you as a blessing. I'm going to bless the whole world through you. Do you know how old he was? 75. Right. And one of the promises that God gave him was, you're going to have a son. You're going to have a child. Do you remember how old he was when that son was born? 100 years old, right? How old was Moses when God called him out of the desert and said, I need you to go and help let my people go from captivity in Egypt. Do you remember? 80 years old or maybe we should say 80 years young. He finally wizened up a little bit, enough in the desert for God to use Him. Pretty amazing things happen and age is never a determining factor of where God would stiff arm someone from an opportunity of serving in his kingdom. It's pretty awesome. Which I think is why the story of Daniel is so inspiring to me. Now, a quick recap. If you have your Bible, I invite you to turn over to Daniel chapter six.

That's where we'll spend the bulk of our time in his word. But to get us there, remember in chapter one, Daniel and his buddy Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and several other young people were carried off into exile. Most likely these guys were probably ten, 11, 12, 13, maybe even a little bit older than that. But somewhere in that pre-teen teenage years and they're brought into the palace of Nebuchadnezzar and they're taught the ways of Babylon. They're they're educated with all the wisdom that that that empire had. And they were taught all kinds of things, and they faced all kinds of challenges to their faith. In fact, it began with what are you going to eat? What are you going to depend on for your strength and your sustenance? Chapter one We'll see a little bit later in chapter three. Are you going to bow down and worship the Gods of Babylon? By the time we get to Chapter six. Daniel has gone through all of these seasons of life in exile. In fact, he's lived all of his adult life in exile. He's now getting ready to face one of his biggest challenges. It's amazing thing to look at. I want us to look at his story and then just reflect a little bit of how do we build a faith like Daniel had a faith that lasts and how do we as a church encourage and equip and help us live into that kind of faith? Daniel.

As Melanie read for us a few minutes ago, Chapter six opens up and he's been appointed. He's been appointed a leader, one of the three administrators. That's over the 120 satraps who were in charge of all of the kingdom. And we're told that Daniel was one of the three over everybody else. But he was so good at what he did, His integrity was so deep that he even stood out among those three, which created a lot of jealousy, a lot of hard feelings. But even though he keeps rising in power and influence, as he has all throughout his time in exile, what we see is Daniel never forgets who helped him navigate this. In fact, one of the one of the tests that Daniel continues to face and pass time and again is that faith test of integrity. Integrity. It's a word that means a lot to us, right? And especially going into an election year, we we start to think about that word again and maybe some different ways. What does it mean to be a person of integrity? You see, Daniel is serving in this pagan land. He's been carried off into captivity. He didn't choose to go there himself. He's just where he is when he is. That's all he can handle. That's all he can do. And yet, while he's there, he served with competence and with excellence, and he began to be taken notice of. But even in the midst of living in a pagan culture, in a culture that didn't value the things that he valued, Daniel didn't hide his faith.

He continued to live out and model his faith. He couldn't compartmentalize it, even though a lot of times that can be a real challenge for us as Christians today. Can it? In a culture that's growing increasingly pagan, we see that temptation to say, Well, I'm going to be one way when I'm with my church friends, but I'm going to be another way when I'm at school or when I'm at work or when I'm in the neighborhood or when I'm at the grocery store or driving on the streets of town. It's a challenge. But Daniel is not willing to divide his life into sacred and secular. You see, his faith impacted all areas of his life, and it couldn't help but come out of him. It was powerful. That's why Daniel would work the way that he did. Time and time again, we read about how Daniel was wise and he worked hard. He was trustworthy. They couldn't. In fact, what we find here in chapter six is he was so full of integrity, they couldn't find any corruption in him and they couldn't find any negligence in the way that he handled and carried out his duties. People saw his faith, his genuineness, his integrity, and they were inspired and they were convicted. In fact, Daniel's coworkers were really convicted by it, so much so they knew that their time in ruling was about to come up to an end if they didn't do something to make a change.

But because of Daniel's integrity, their only hope, their only chance was to try to somehow take his faith that was so important to him and use it against him. And we're told that Daniel was a man of prayer. He prayed three times every day. Which brings up the question, do people know that you're a man, a woman of prayer? Is prayer a part of your daily life? One of the ways I think Daniel was able to stand the test of time, his integrity was he was a man devoted to praying. We're going to hear a little bit more about that in just a minute. But the ironic thing here is that Daniel's co-workers end up trying to outlaw the very thing that's been blessing their lives. They don't even know it. They have no idea what they're doing. Remember that through the prophet Jeremiah, God had predicted he had said, You're going to be carried off into captivity. You're going to go into exile and you're going to be there for a while. So once you're there, you're going to have to try to embrace it. You're going to have to live into it. In fact, in Jeremiah 29, we hear these words, This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Build houses and settle down.

Plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage so that they, too, may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there do not decrease. Also seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it. Because if it prospers, you too will prosper. I pray for Babylon, even though you don't believe what they believe and value what they value. You're going to be there a while. I want you to pray for them as they prosper. So too will you prosper. And here in Daniel chapter six, we find that that Daniel's co-workers are now trying to outlaw the very thing, the very prayers that have been blessing their city. They have no idea what they're doing. And when Daniel hears about this edict now that's been passed that he cannot prayer, pray, rather for 30 days, he could have reacted in fear and in anger. After all the things I've done for you, after you see my life, you see how I'm better than these goofballs over here. I take the best of care of all kinds of people. He could have responded with anger and insecurity and fear, but that's not how he responds. You see, here's one of the truths about integrity. That when we hit crisis. Crisis doesn't create who we are. It reveals who we are. You see, Daniel's life of prayer was having a deep work in his soul.

He wasn't a person who flaunted his prayer life, but he also wasn't someone who hiding it, hid it, rather hide it. That's not even a word, is it? Is that a word? Hide it. Let's go with. Hide it. He just continued to do what he'd always done. Right. Did you catch verse ten that Melanie read for us? Now, when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem. Three times a day, he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. When Daniel heard about the edict, he went home and he continued doing what he'd always done. At this man of integrity also was was facing the second test of faith. And that's maturity. How are you going to respond when life punches you in the nose? How are you going to respond when things don't go your way and when things don't work out the way that you hope they would? Daniel had set up certain rhythms in his life that were caring for his soul. They helped mature his faith, and it was critical for him to spend that time with God every day. Prayer wasn't something he did just in crisis. Certainly he did it in crisis. But it wasn't only then, prayer was how he nurtured his life. So let me ask you.

Church How are you nurturing your soul? How are you building into your life? The rhythms of time with God every day? See, I grew up thinking it was about getting that check mark, right? Being able to to knock off in your journal. Hey, that's six days in a row. Seven days in a row. Ten days in a row. What we see over and over again. Through the life of Daniels. It has such a deeper impact when we're willing to commit to the one who is faithful. So Daniel's integrity is growing. His maturity is growing. Now, some of us may think, well, I just I know Carl, that's a good idea. I just don't have time. Let me remind you, Daniel is. Is in charge of Babylon. He's one of three. And if anybody didn't have time, Daniel did not have time. Daniel made the time, right? None of us have the time. There's always things you could fill your time up with. The question is, will we choose to fill it up with what actually restores us? Not sure if you think I'm preaching to you. I'm preaching to myself here. It's so tempting to get busy with important things that matter and to forget the most important thing for Daniel. He was not willing to forget that. You notice where Daniel went to pray? Turn your attention back again to verse ten of chapter six. Upstairs by an open window facing Jerusalem. You ever wonder why he went there? Now, some have said, well, the windows were open, That means God could see him and he didn't care if God could see him.

He didn't care who else saw him. And I think there's probably some truth to that. Daniel was willing to pray in that open space where folks could look in and see him. But I think there's also something else going on. For some of us, we need to hear that word of just knowing God sees. God hears. He knows what you're facing. He knows the challenges. He knows the circumstances. He knows some of us need to be reminded of that this morning. But again, that may not necessarily be the only thing happening here. You see, I think Daniel is also praying in front of that window because he has a different idea about how the future is going to turn out. Remember Jeremiah's prophecy that we read just a moment ago about how they're going to be carried off into exile and then brought back at some point? Well, listen to what just a few verses later, verse ten will pick up in Jeremiah 29. This is what the Lord said. When 70 years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me. And I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile. And what we learn is Daniel wasn't just a man of prayer. He was also a man of the word. He remembered God's promise through Jeremiah. It's been 70 years. Daniel understands. He knows how a clock works. He knows how a schedule and a timer and a calendar works. He's been counting the years he's been living in captivity now over 70 years. Just a couple of chapters from Chapter six. Chapter nine opens this way. In the first year of Darius, son of Xerxes, a mede by descent who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom in the first year of his reign. I, Daniel understood from the Scriptures, according to the Word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the Prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last 70 years. So I turned to the Lord God, and I pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting and in sackcloth and ashes. You see, I think that's why Daniel was praying in that room upstairs in front of an open window that faced Jerusalem was it was not only just I don't care who sees me, I know God sees me.

But it was also this confession that, God, I'm praying that you will fulfill the promise that you've made to me, that my hope is not in the city that Nebuchadnezzar built, that Darius is in charge of. My hope is in the city that Nebuchadnezzar thinks he destroyed and wiped out. My hope is not in a future that this kingdom thinks it's bringing into the world. My hope is in God's kingdom that he will bring forth into the world. That's why. Daniel could maintain his faith. That's why those daily prayers, that understanding of God's word, gave him the courage to live out his faith, even when he knew hard things were coming because they were coming. Right. Some men show up in Daniel six. We learn. Some men show up and they find Daniel praying when he shouldn't be praying. And so they arrest him. And again, he's calm because he's already settled in his heart. What kingdom matters most? Who he will depend on the most. And we're told the king is really upset because he sees the value of Daniel. He sees the kind of man that he is. He sees the kind of leader that he is. He understands the kind of value that he brings and adds to the leadership of the kingdom. And so we're told that he works all day trying to figure out a way to weasel out from underneath this decree that these other men have kind of tricked him into signing and creating.

But he can't. And so we're told in Daniel six, beginning in verse 16. The king gave the order. They brought Daniel and threw him into the lion's den. The king said to Daniel May, your God whom you serve, continually rescue you. The stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not change. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating, without any entertainment, been brought to him, and he could not sleep. And the king couldn't sleep. His conscience was bothering him. Daniel's integrity had convinced and convicted him. And as it turns out, Daniel had a much better night's sleep in a lion's den than the king had in that cozy palace. Which leads to that third test. Not only was there integrity and maturity, but we see this test keeps coming up over and over and over again for Daniel. And that's the test of of trust. Who will I trust? Who will I depend on? When you set your heart on doing the right thing, you can trust that God will take care of the results no matter what happens. See, Daniel doesn't know the end of the story here.

Remember, Daniel was carried into captivity when he was probably ten, 11, 12, 13. And it's been how many years? Church. 70 years. So that makes Daniel. Carry the two. Add the four. 80 something. And think about that for a minute. He's over 80, being threatened in a lion's den. For praying. That's where we find Daniel. I grew up thinking this story was about. And it's so amazing that Daniel trusted God and God rescued him from the lion's den. Isn't that incredible? We're like, No, no, no, no. We miss the power of the story. The incredible thing is that an 83 year old man was willing to get in the lion's den. He was willing to go right with that same faith that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said, King, I know my God can save me. But even if he doesn't, I want you to know. I'm not bound the knee. That's an amazing story of faith. And how thankful I am that an 83 year old person or 84 or 80 5 or 86 year old was willing to say. I'll face it. Because I know. I know who I believe in. Faith that last doesn't require a promise, that it's always going to work out the way you want it. I know for some of us, myself included, that's a tough pill to swallow because I like things turning out the way I like them. I like having a plan and working my plan. I like it when things come up roses.

I don't like it when hard things come. But see a faith that lasts. A faith that's full of integrity. That's the same whether I'm at church or school or work or neighborhood or home or anywhere else. A faith that's continuing to mature and to grow and to develop. Becomes a faith that learns how to trust that God really will have the last word. That he really does care deeply about us. That he really knows and has created a future for us. Verse 19. At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lion's den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice. Daniel, servant of the Living God, has your God whom you serve, continually been able to rescue you from the lion's. Daniel answered. May the king live forever? My God sent his angel and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before. You, Your Majesty. The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him because he had trusted in his God. The story of Daniel has been one shared throughout the centuries challenging, encouraging, inspiring hundreds and thousands of Christians. It's helped to shape and form their lives. In fact, so much so that in the catacombs, if you ever get a chance to travel to Italy, go to Rome, and you go in the tombs that are underground, where many Christians who had been martyred were buried.

What you'll find is a fresco of Daniel in the lion's den. Because they were inspired. Not not just that they got rescued from that moment that Daniel got rescued from that moment, but this reminder that no matter what we face, God is with us. And nothing can ever take that. Nothing can ever steal that. Early Christians saw a lot of parallels between the story of Daniel and Jesus. Both were framed by people who were jealous of them. Both were arrested right after they had been praying to God. Both had government officials who wanted to release them but didn't have the courage or the ability, but gave in to pressure. They entrusted themselves to God rather than trusting or trying to defend themselves. They were both put into a hole in the ground and covered up by a large stone. And both were raised up and vindicated by God. How do you build a faith that lasts? How do we become the kind of church that encourages that kind of faith? It's remembering God has the last word. And that last word is resurrection. Is eternity. And nothing can steal that from us. No matter what happens in our lives, whether we get the life that we want or we're in a much darker place.

But we know exactly how this thing is going to go or we have no idea where this road will lead us. God will have the last word. And so we want to be a church that's filled with Daniels. With men and women who demonstrate this integrity of faith and this maturity, who understand it's okay to talk and to wrestle and to ask questions and to wrestle with answers, because we know God has the last word. We can trust him. There's nothing that we can't face together knowing we have God's help. We want to be a place that models integrity and maturity and trust. I hope this story is inspiring to you. I hope it challenges you the way that it challenged Paul. You may remember his second letter to Timothy, one of the last writings we have of his recorded that we hear this echo of the Daniel story. Paul mentions it. He has this memory of it. And in fact, it's what's helping him navigate as he's been imprisoned by Nero and he's sitting in the cold, dark dungeon. But he won't give up. Jesus. It's in this prison that he writes these words. At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side. And the Lord gave me strength so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.

And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. And Paul remembered Daniel. He remembered. Not that he would be saved the way that Daniel was, but that God was with him then in that prison cell, just like he was with Daniel in the lion's den. And even in those dire circumstances, Paul said, God's message keeps ringing out. It keeps being proclaimed. Church. May we be that kind of church? A place people, group followers, Disciples. May God bless us this week as he continues to build into us and as we encourage in one another a faith that is full of integrity. That has spiritual practices in place so that we might grow in maturity. And that we would remember and trust that God will have the last word. Father. May this be true of us this week as we go about all that's before us, and we're going to face some temptations and some challenges. They're going to test our faith. But God, thank you for the Daniels that are a part of the Broadway family who have been a part of this church for over 120 years. God, thank you for the men and women who have lived throughout these many decades. We have been in this place on this corner, who have been models to us of what it means to be. A man, a woman of integrity. Who doesn't kowtow to the culture around, who doesn't bend to the knee, to those who would try to force its way, its values that are not of you.

But instead. With integrity. We continue to work hard to bless and even see the city they live in prosper. Even though they don't share the same values. Trusting and believing. Knowing your promise. God. Your promise is that you're with us. And so we learn to grow and to mature. By giving ourselves to practices that through again centuries have helped shape and form the hearts of your people. Yeah. Would you help us to be people of faith this week? Who'd spend time in your word? Who would spend time praying? And that because we have to. The God because we want to. We want to be shaped and formed into men and women who look like Daniels in our day. Yeah. Would you help us? And the younger generations? To do our best to love and honor and respect and listen to the wisdom of the older generations. Yeah. Would you help our older generations see that their place in our church doesn't diminish over time. It doesn't fade. It just gets stronger and deeper. God, would you give us eyes to see and ears to hear the wisdom that you are pouring into our lives? There are seniors here at Broadway. Oh, God, We want to be that kind of community, that type of faith community where we demonstrate that there is a kingdom not of this world breaking through every day. May people see it and experience it with us, just like they did with Daniel. God, we ask all this in Jesus name. Amen.