November 10, 2019
DANIEL 6: REMAIN FAITHFUL!
November 10, 2019
Pastor Jonathan Falwell
In today’s world, almost everyday we are met with situations that will compromise our standards. Let’s be honest, most of the time it is easier to give in and avoid conflict than to stand firm and be conspicuous! Can anyone relate?
Open:
We have come to the sixth chapter of Daniel—probably the most famous chapter in the book of Daniel. Few of us have chosen to defy ungodly authorities in order to obey God, but those who have can taste the fear of certain death, as Daniel probably did. Let us see what lessons can be learned from this faithful servant of the only True God.
Key verse: Daniel 5:31: “And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.” (NKJV)
Doing the right thing will make you a target
- The key verse today sets the stage for Daniel’s new work. What does this short verse tell us about the kingdom of Babylon? Daniel had come to Babylon as a youth (perhaps fourteen or fifteen years of age), in 586 BC. Now it is about 540 BC, which would make Daniel having served as a slave in Babylon approximately how many years? About how old is he now?
- Read Daniel 6:3-5. What type of character did Daniel posses that those jealous rivals could find nothing bad to say about him? Do you know of anyone today whose character cannot be slandered?
- Why is it a “given” that tribulation or trials will come when we are faithfully serving God, walking in His commandments? Read John 16:33. What is the truth, and what is the resulting promise? Read 1 Peter 5:8. Why is this the case?
Faithfulness is more important than popularity or acceptance
- Read verses 10-11. What does verse 10a tell you about Daniel? In 10b, how do you know that Daniel had no hesitation about exposing his prayers? How can that type of inner strength be obtained?
- We established a probable age for Daniel in question 1. In verse 10c, then, how long had Daniel been praying like this? (Are you this faithful in prayer?)
- The wicked men knew where to find Daniel. What are some things—up to now—that Daniel could have done differently? Had he caved in, what would have been his testimony? Since he was faithful, what does this show?
God will protect and reward
- Will someone please summarize the events through verse 21, and tell the situation Darius finds himself in? How do you think Daniel felt, when he was taken captive to the den of hungry lions? Read Daniel 3:18 and tell how the two situations were similar, though many years apart.
- Read Daniel 6:26. What impact did Daniel’s miraculous protection make upon King Darius? What are we able to learn from this chapter in Daniel? Does this mean that Christians will never meet an untimely death at the hands of evil men
- Read verse 28. God chose to protect Daniel in the den of lions. What reward did he receive as he served out his final years in Babylon? Does faithfulness always have an earthly reward? Why or why not?
Close:
Probably few chapters in the Old Testament are as well known as this chapter relating Daniel’s experience in the den of lions! From Sunday School age, children are familiar with the amazing protection by God as He shut the mouths of those hungry lions and set Daniel free. Can you imagine the people seeing him emerge, unharmed, the next morning when his king comes to the den? As Darius issues a new decree stating that the God of Daniel is the True God who can save and protect, one can only hope that there will be some Babylonians in heaven because of the faithful character of this godly man.
A cliché that wonderfully describes Daniel’s life is one we hear sometimes in Christian circles: “Be the type of Christian so that, when your feet hit the floor first thing in the morning, Satan exclaims, “Oh, no! He’s/she’s awake again!” Would that we all were that type of faithful servant of God.
As we studied the second point of the sermon, Daniel, now an old man, serves to furnish us with an example that not many young people today can understand: that faithfulness to God is so much better to be grasped than acceptance by those people who are the wealthy, the beautiful, or the SNL’s (the Strong, Natural, Leaders). There are too many hearts broken in families today at the actions of their loved ones falling short of God’s best for us, looking rather for the praise of those they consider someone to emulate. We all have examples and they are not something we are happy about, unless our own testimony is thin or tepid. Let this chapter in Daniel speak to your own heart as you examine your life to see if you fall short in meeting God’s standards. Would you have given in to the new law to not pray except to Darius for thirty days, claiming you were obeying those in authority? Or would you have closed the windows (if you had even continued to pray!) of your house, so no one could see you? Daniel, who after all was a mere man, had to have experienced some fear that the lions would eat him within the first few minutes: would your fear have turned you into a lunatic? Three Old Testament saints were held in such honor by God that He mentioned them in the prophetic book of Ezekiel: “If these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job, were…” (Ezek. 14:14). God was very proud of the faith of Daniel. Is He proud of your faith?