Daniel: A Man Highly Esteemed By God

Introduction:

Daniel is a great bible character

Jer. is going to fall - Eze. 14:14

Daniel is described as a very righteous person

Daniel is still alive when this written. He is a contemporary of Ezekiel but had already gained the reputation of being a very righteous person

We are mostly familiar with the first 6 chapters of Daniel

Daniel doesn’t defile himself with eating the kings meat

Daniel and his friends of Daniel 3

The interpratation of the vision of King Nebuchadnezzar - Daniel 2, 4, 5

Daniel and his faith and prayer in Daniel 6

But when it comes to 7 and on it begins to become a little more difficult

Daniel - The seventy week vision

1. Daniel Was A Man Of Great Faith

A. What Do We Mean by Man of Faith?

He Believes that God exist and that he is a rewarder of those that seek after him - Heb. 11:6

You don’t waver in unbelief - Rom. 4:19-22

Motivated by that faith to serve and obey - James 2:14-16

B. Examples of Daniels Faith

Ch.1 – Daniel refuses to defile himself with the king’s food

Ch.2 – Interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream

Ch.6 – Praying in spite of decree by Darius (Heb.11:33)

C. If You Are Going to Be Greatly Beloved by God, You Must Be A Man or Women of Faith

Abraham was friend of God because of his faith – James 2:23

Gal.3:26-27

Develop Faith by Studying – Romans 10:17

Develop Strong Faith by Asking God to Help – Lk.17:5

2. Daniel Was A Man Of Prayer

A. Daniel Was A Man of Prayer

Daniel 6:10-11

NIV – “just as he had done before”

ASV – “as he had done aforetime”

Young – “even as he had been accustomed to do before this”

Daniel 9:3-4

B. You Cannot Be Close to A God You Never Communicate With

Luke 18:1; 1 Thess.5:17

It is a great privilege to pray to God

Romans 8:15

Matt.6:9-13

Prayer Shows Our Dependence Upon God

Heb.4:16

John 15:5

3. Daniel Was A Man Of Purpose

A. Daniel Was A Man of Purpose

Daniel 1:8 – “purpose in his heart”

“resolved” – ESV

“determined” – CSB

Daniel 6:10 – “as he had done previously”

The decision to pray had already been made

Job was anman of purpose – Job 31:1

David – Psalm 39:1

B. We Need To Be People of Purpose

We must purpose to continue with the Lord – Acts 11:23

We must purpose to control our tongue – Ps.17:3

We need to purpose to give – 2 Cor.9:6-7

We must purpose not to defile our self – 1 Cor.6:19

4. Daniel Was A Man of Penitence

A. Daniel Was Not A Perfect Man

Daniel was not perfect

We All Sin – Rom.3:23; Gal.3:11

Daniel 9 – Great Prayer Chapters of Bible

Dan. 9:20 – “confessing my sin”

Dan. 9:5

B. If We Possess the Proper Attitude Toward Our Sin We Can Be Beloved by God

1 John 1:8-10

God does not demand perfection but he does expect penitence

Peter, Paul were not perfect they were penitent

Need Attitude of David – Ps.51

5. Daniel Was A Man of Perseverance

A. Daniel Was A Lifelong Servant of God

Daniel 1 – Young Man

Daniel 6 – Old Man

B. We Need To Persevere Like Daniel

Many faithful short time – Mt.13:18-23; 2 Tim.4:10

2 Tim.4:7-8; Rev.2:10