Sermon Tone Analysis

Daniel 6:1-28

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen Caswell © 1999

Putting Faith to the Test

 

Robert Chesebrough believed in his product.

He's the fellow who invented Vaseline, a petroleum jelly refined from rod wax, the ooze that forms on shafts of oil rigs.

He so believed in the healing properties of his product that he became his own guinea pig.

He burned himself with acid and flame; he cut and scratched himself so often and so deeply that he bore the scars of his tests the rest of his life.

But he proved his product worked.

People had only to look at his wounds, now healed, to see the value of his work--and the extent of his belief.

-- /Ralph Walker/ In the same way four young Hebrews proved their faith in God in the midst of very difficult trials.

Introduction

 

Last Sunday morning we saw how Shadrach Meshach and Abed-Nego withstood an incredible test upon their faith.

They refused to worship or serve the king's gods.

These men demonstrated great courage and faith in God.

The stand they took put their lives on the line.

Their defense before the king is one that we can all learn from.

/If it be so our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king./ /But if not be it known O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up./

The king learnt through experience that God's rule is supreme.

He is sovereign.

Today we see Daniel confronted with a similar test.

He was asked to change his worship and devotion from God to man.

At this stage Daniel was an elderly man, probably about 82 or 83 years old.

Yet his faith had not weakened over the years.

*/We will see four points today/*.

I.

Daniel's Preference

II.

Daniel's Peril

III.

Daniel's Preservation

IV.

Darius'  Proclamation 

 

I.

Daniel's Preference

 

*Daniel 6:1-4* /It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss.

Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.

So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him./

/ /

/a.

Faultless /

 

The 122 administrators didn't want Daniel, a Jew, ruling over them.

So they examined him out to find if he had been stealing from the king.

They closely examined his work in the kingdom and found him to be */faultless./*

The word */fault/* means */corrupt./*

Daniel was faultless, what a wonderful testimony.

There was no negative quality in Daniel's service.

/b.

Faithful/

/ /

King Darius replaced the Babylonian rule of Belshazzar.

He reorganized the government and appointed administrators over the kingdom.

120 satraps or officials were given authority to govern regions on behalf of the king.

Darius set three governors over all these.

Because Daniel was such an able administrator Darius thought of appointing him prime minister.

We are told that he distinguished himself above the rest.

The word */distinguish/* means */to be preferred, be reliable, to be pre-eminent, to be briliant./*

He had an excellent spirit in him.

This was because God was with him and He enabled Daniel to govern wisely.

Verse 4 tells us that he was faithful in all his duties.

He could be counted on to do his tasks well.

These are all positive qualities.

/ /

Faithfulness, Tiny Sacrifices --/ Darryl Bell,/

 

Fred Craddock, in an address to ministers, caught the practical implications of consecration.

"To give my life for Christ appears glorious," he said.

"To pour myself out for others ... to pay the ultimate price of martyrdom--I'll do it.

I'm ready, Lord, to go out in a blaze of glory.

"We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking a $1,000 bill and laying it on the table--'Here's my life, Lord.

I'm giving it all.'

"But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $1,000 for quarters.

We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents there.

Listen to the neighbor kid's troubles instead of saying, ' Go away.' Go to a committee meeting.

Give up a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home.

"Usually giving our life to Christ isn't glorious.

It's done in all those little acts of love, 25 cents at a time.

It would be easy to go out in  a flash of glory; it's much harder to live the Christian life little by little over the long haul."

Application

 

/Daniel totally obeyed the Lord.

/Every day in the big things and the little things he was */faithful./*/

Do you have that kind of testimony at work? Can your boss count on you to be honest?

Is your life *faultless*?

Or is there corruption in your work habits?

Do dishonesty or laziness weaken your witness?/

Daniel was a faithful servant.

He relied on God's Spirit.

Christians are called out of the world to be ambassadors for the King of Kings.

/Are you serving Him well?

Are you endeavoring to be *faithful *and* faultless?*

Are you relying on the Holy Spirit's power?/

/ /

*/Because Daniel was faithful and faultless he was preferred by the king./*

*/But this lead to:/*

 

II.

Daniel's Peril

 

/a.

The Conspiracy Against Daniel/

 

*Daniel 6:5-9*/ Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”

So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever!

“All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.

/

The satraps didn't quit when they found Daniel to be */faithful/* and without*/ fault/*.

They weren't going to allow this Jew to rule over them.

/He was already showing them up, imagine what would happen if he became prime minister?/

So they decided to trap him with regards to his faith.

They knew that Daniel served the Lord and would have nothing to do with idolatry.