Daniel: Devoted When It’s Unpopular

Survival of the Holiest  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  53:23
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Introduction
The prophet Ezekiel lived during the time of Israel’s return to their homeland after decades of exile in foreign countries. It should have been a time when God’s chosen people, chose Him and exhibited a high degree of faithfulness to Him. What should have been, clearly was not.
Instead, the time was marked by a greater impending judgment.
Ezekiel 14:12–14 NKJV
12 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: 13 “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. 14 Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord God.
Into this darkness God spotlighted three men who were holy, devoted to Him. These men had experienced deliverance. But even these three men could not save the nation from what was coming.
Transition
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Illumination
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Daniel Knew Destruction

He had been carried away as a captive
Daniel 1:1–2 NKJV
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.
He had been conscripted into Nebuchadnezzar’s political corps
Daniel 1:3–4 NKJV
3 Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, 4 young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans.
He had been changed in irreversible ways
Daniel 1:6–7 NKJV
6 Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.
Daniel reported to the chief of the Eunuchs, which made him….

Daniel Knew Devotion

The Commitment

This is seen clearly from a young age where He expressed his commitment to God and God granted him the necessary favor to exercise his commitment.
Daniel 1:8–9 NKJV
8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. 9 Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs.
There was some resistance to Daniel’s plan but he was able to prove his case by testing his practice against the others, and succeeding beyond expectations.
Daniel 1:19–20 NKJV
19 Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king. 20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm.

The Warning

Favor prompts jealousy and may prompt further opportunities to express our commitment to God.

Daniel Knew Deliverance

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

Daniel 2:1–3 NKJV
1 Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. 2 Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”
Concerned that his advisors would spin what he gave them, Nebuchadnezzar decided that they would need to tell him both what the dream was and what it meant. They couldn’t. He flipped.
Daniel 2:12–13 NKJV
12 For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.
The captain of the guard who was tasked with killing the king’s advisors seems to have sought Daniel first…but not to kill him.
Daniel 2:14–15 NKJV
14 Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; 15 he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel.
Daniel requested and received a brief reprieve from the king with the promise that he would tell him the dream and its meaning. Then he went home and had a prayer meeting with his friends.
Daniel 2:19 NKJV
19 Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
God gave Daniel the vision and its interpretation, and Daniel gave both to the king. Things worked out pretty well from there.
Daniel 2:48–49 NKJV
48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Statue

One of the more iconic stories from Daniel is the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. While the story is interesting, it does prompt a question: where was Daniel when all this went down?
It is clear he is not mentioned
It seems unlikely that he bowed
it seems probable that he was absent
perhaps on a diplomatic mission to Persia
perhaps just excluded because the king favored Daniel and knew this wouldn’t sit well with him
We don’t know exactly where Daniel was, but we may safely assume where he wasn’t: at the statue’s feet, bowing. By this absence, we can see God delivering him. How many times has God delivered His people by having them not be in the place where they would need dramatic deliverance? We may never know.

Belshazzar’s Feast

Another iconic story from Daniel is the handwriting on the wall. This happened several generations after Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel was now older and semi-retired and largely forgotten. At least until there was a puzzle no one could solve, like handwriting on the wall.
Daniel 5:10–12 NKJV
10 The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. 11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. 12 Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.”
Daniel was called and Daniel gave the interpretation. It wasn’t a good interpretation. The Babylonian Empire was at an end.
Daniel 5:29–30 NKJV
29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain.
God had delivered Daniel from irrelevance and may well have delivered him from death at the hands of attacking Persian troops. Instead, Daniel was made the third ruler and the designated surrender of the empire to the Persians. They, in turn, added him to their own government.
Daniel 6:1–3 NKJV
1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; 2 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. 3 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.
This promotion set up his most iconic moment.

The Lion’s Den

Daniel 6:4–5 NKJV
4 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. 5 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.”
And so they did. They tricked the king into signing a law that said no one could make any petition of anyone except the king for 30 days. In a moment of self-importance overriding self-awareness, the king signed the law. The application of the law basically banned prayer. Daniel prayed anyway. His detractors arrested him and Daniel ended up in the Lion’s Den as punishment: he was, after all , guilty.
He slept like a baby, but the king was up all night worrying.
Daniel 6:18–20 NKJV
18 Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him. 19 Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”
God had. And Daniel’s enemies ended up as lion food.
Conclusion
Daniel knew destruction, devotion, and deliverance.

The Lesson

In the face of adversity, we can still find ways to express our commitment to God in ways that also earn favor with those around us.
Galatians 5:22–23 NKJV
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
All that Daniel experienced was predicated upon his personal holiness.
how often are our difficulties a result of our failings, not a result of our faithfulness?
how often have we wanted to dictate what deliverance looked like? Daniel still faced a lot of adversity in deliverance.
Application
We need to be devoted when its unpopular. Devotion, personal holiness, is the path of deliverance. The problem arises when we try to take a middle of the road approach. And as a wise man in an 80’s movie once said:
“Walk on road. Walk right side, safe. Walk left side, safe. Walk middle, sooner or later, you get squished just like grape.”
Don’t walk middle. Choose personal holiness. Commit to personal holiness.
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