The Allegiance of Daniel to His God

Transcription

1 I. Introduction: Daniel 6. The Allegiance of Daniel to His God A. Reference to recent Gospel Meeting. 1. They had a regular Tuesday morning class going through a study of the prophets. 2. I was asked to teach the class on Daniel As I was studying through the chapter, there were so many great lessons contained in it that I thought it would be good to talk about this morning. B. Not just a child s story. 1. This story of Daniel in the lion s den is well known to all of our children. 2. We have all learned this story when we were all very little. 3. Yet, this story is much more than just a child s tale. 4. There are many profound lessons in it. C. Remembering the story. 1. The king was thinking about setting Daniel over the whole realm. 2. Other governors and satraps were jealous and sought to find something against Daniel. - They couldn t find anything against him in relation to the kingdom. - So they concluded that they would have to find a charge against him relating to his service to God. 3. They convince the king to sign a petition that prohibited any worship of any god except the king. 4. Daniel hears about the decree, and he goes home and opens his window and prays like he always had. 5. His enemies find out that Daniel has broken the decree and they go and tell the king. - The king is heartbroken and tries to find some way to deliver Daniel. - but he can t, the law could not be changed. 6. So, Daniel is thrown into the lions den. - not just a den with a couple of lions. - a den with perhaps hundreds of lions. 7. The king spends an anxious night and goes early in the morning to see what had become of Daniel. 8. Daniel is unhurt, because God s angel delivered him and stopped the mouths of the lions. 9. King Darius throws the men who had tricked him into the lion s den. - and He makes another decree, this time demanding that everyone should fear and tremble before the God of Daniel.

2 II. The Need for Prayer. A. Daniel was a man of prayer. 1. At the time of this story, Daniel is an older man, probably in his late 70's to early 80's. 2. He had a custom of praying three times a day. - this was a custom since early days. 3. Daniel was very consistent in his prayers. - for 50+ years, he had this habit. 4. Daniel evidently believed in the power of prayer. - He knew how important prayer was. 5. Nothing was going to make him stop praying. - not even the threat of physical death. B. We need to learn this lesson on prayer. 1. We often talk about the need to improve our prayer life. - How are we doing? - Has our life changed? - Have your routines changed? 2. We understand the concept. - Communication is key to any relationship. - We need to spend time talking to God. 3. Prayer is a great gift of God because through it we have access to the power of God. - Ephesians 3:20, Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. - This is the power which we can access through prayer. 4. Later in the book of Ephesians, Paul describes prayer as a weapon that is given to the Christian. - the whole armor of God is described in verses In verse 17, the word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit. - But we often overlook the other weapon at our disposal: - Vs. 18, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. - we need to use all of the weapons at his disposal. III. The Power of Faith. A. Why was Daniel not harmed in the den of lions? 1. Because God sent His angel to protect him. Vs Because he was innocent before God. Vs Because he had done no wrong before the king. Vs But notice the reason that is given in the last part of verse 23: "so Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God."

3 5. Daniel was saved because of his faith. - It was his solid belief and trust in God that allowed him to escape injury in the den of lions. B. We need to learn the power of faith. 1. Faith can deliver us just as it delivered Daniel. 2. One of the points that was brought out in our class this past Tuesday was regarding the silence of Daniel throughout these events. - it seems to me that Daniel is depicted as having a silent confidence through all of these things. - that he knows that God will take care of him. 3. We need to live our lives with that kind of confidence. - we don t need to hope that God will take care of things. - we need to know that He will. 4. A firm belief and trust in God is the lesson that we learn from Daniel. - like the faith that is described in James 1:6, "but let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind." - we need to know that God will do what s best for us. - and also, we don t have to understand how things will work out for the best, we simply must believe. IV. The Influence of Faithfulness. A. Notice the influence that Daniel had upon King Darius. 1. Here is a young captive boy from Judah, and look at his influence upon the kings of Babylon throughout this book. - a great influence and relationship with Nebuchadnezzar. - influence upon Belshazzar. - and now an incredible relationship with King Darius of the Medo-Persian empire. 2. As we read through this story, one of the amazing parts of it is the relationship between Darius and Daniel. - King Darius is obviously impressed with the work that Daniel has performed for him. - He was giving thought to setting Daniel over the entire realm. - And we see the intense reaction of King Darius when he realizes that he was going to have to give the command for Daniel to be thrown into the lion s den. - Look at verse 14 again. - And also we see the emotions of King Darius when he goes to the den to see whether Daniel had survived. - Notice verses 20 and Here is a strong and mighty king who often times would have to be ruthless and vicious in battle, and we see compassion and love for a man that he respected.

4 4. This is nothing but the influence of faithfulness. - Daniel s righteousness and his relationship with his God had a profound impact upon the life of King Darius. B. Righteousness will impact the lives of others. 1. If we will live a faithful and righteous life, others will be influenced for good. 2. What can you do for your family members and your neighbors who are not Christians? - the 1st thing that you can do is live a faithful life. - and that will impact them. 3. We have an influence on people one way or the other. - We can have a good influence. - Or we can have a bad influence. 4. People need to be able to look at our lives and see God in it. - Matthew 5:16, "let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." 5. How are you impacting the people around you? V. The Example of a Blameless Life. A. Daniel lived a blameless life, a life beyond reproach. 1. At the very beginning of the story, Daniel s enemies are seeking to find some fault with his life. 2. They look hard into his life and into Daniel s service in the kingdom. - They could not find one thing to charge him with. - Notice verse They come to the realization that they won t find anything except using Daniel s religion against him. 4. There are two very good lessons here for us. - the impact of a blameless life. - Daniel did not hide his religion. 5. Daniel was not ashamed of his relationship to his God. - even his enemies knew of this relationship. - and they knew that they could use it against him. B. We should be concerned with what people see when they look at our lives. 1. This point is extremely related to our previous point. 2. We can t give people any room to find fault. - we have to mind our p s and q s. 3. In a community such as this, it is easy to ruin a reputation. - if we behave in a bad way, everyone is going to find out about it. - and it will have a negative effect on us and on this church. 4. Daniel s life was lived in such a way that even his worst critics couldn t find anything wrong.

5 VI. The Absence of Fear. 5. We don t need to have the attitude of "I don t care what anybody else thinks." - we should care, to some extent. - we shouldn t do things simply to please people. - but we should be concerned about people learning the wrong things when they look at our lives. A. Perhaps the greatest lesson from Daniel is simply his lack of fear regarding the decree that was signed by the king. 1. Daniel knew what would happen if he disobeyed the king s command. - he knew the law of the Medes and the Persians that once it was signed that it could not be changed. - he knew that his enemies would be watching him and waiting for him to "slip up." - he knew that he would be thrown into the den of lions. 2. Yet, he did not stop praying for 30 days, as would be the temptation to some. 3. And, he did not try to hide his prayers during this time, as would be the greater temptation to many. 4. Look at verse 10 again. - He knew that it was signed. - He went home and opened up his windows for all to see. - And he prayed to His God. 5. He was making a statement to the whole world. - My relationship to my God comes before anything else. - I fear my God more than I fear any man. B. No fear. 1. What would you have done if you were in Daniel s position? - maybe you wouldn t have bowed down to the king. - but perhaps you would have been tempted to cease from praying for a little while (It s only 30 days). - or possibly more likely, you would have made sure that you prayed in secret. - would any of us have had the boldness of Daniel? 2. Or how about the apostle Paul? - to preach and to teach the gospel from city to city. - even when being pursued by people who threatened him and tried to kill him. 3. We need to learn this great lesson on fear. - Daniel knew who he needed to fear. - His priority was not to fear the king. - nor to fear his enemies. - nor to fear even death. - His priority was to fear His God. 4. No matter what the consequences are,

6 VII. Conclusion: God was with Daniel. - we must fear God. - "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Mt. 10:28).