An Excellent Spirit

Perfectionist vs. a person with a spirit of excellence

Daniel 6:1–23 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. 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.” 6 So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever! 7 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. 8 Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the written decree. 10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. 11 Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. 12 And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king’s decree: “Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” 13 So they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.” 14 And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. 15 Then these men approached the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed.” 16 So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” 17 Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed. 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?” 21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” 23 Now the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.

Daniel 6

Daniel 6 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. 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.” 6 So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever! 7 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. 8 Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the written decree. 10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. 11 Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. 12 And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king’s decree: “Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” 13 So they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.” 14 And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. 15 Then these men approached the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed.” 16 So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” 17 Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed. 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?” 21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” 23 Now the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God. 24 And the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions—them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den. 25 Then King Darius wrote: To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. 26 I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, And steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, And His dominion shall endure to the end. 27 He delivers and rescues, And He works signs and wonders In heaven and on earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. 28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Turn to your neighbor and ask them “Do you have an Excellent Spirit?”

The have an excellent spirit is to be the outstanding and extraordinary person that God has created you to be.

One of the greatest enemies to excellence is to be complacent with mediocrity.

Last week, Pastor Taylor talked about complacency and getting out of our comfort zones, so I don’t need to dive too deep into explaining what complacency is, but before I go any further, I do want to quickly distinguish complacency with another word that people may get caught up on – that is, contentment. Because sometimes we can mistakenly call our complacency contentment.

Contentment is a virtue and something the Bible teaches us to have. Contentment is what Paul had in mind in when he said, I have learned to live on a little and I have he learned to live on a lot, I have learned to live hungry and I have learned to live with a full stomach. I have learned the key to life that “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. Contentment says no matter what situation I’m in, I will not allow my situation to dictate my joy because my joy is not found in things and quality of life, but it is found in the Lord. Contentment is something God says we should have when it comes to situations we are not in control of.

Complacency on the other is a refusal to improve. Complacency says I am satisfied with my situation not because I tried and it didn’t work, but simply because I’m not motivated to do anything more or be anything more. In other words, I’ve given up or I’m just plain ole’ lazy.

And Complacency with mediocrity says I am okay with being average or doing just enough.

It is the C student that expects people to award them simply because they didn’t get a D.

It is the athlete that goes to the gym, but never pushes themselves to the next level.

It is the employee that shows up to do their job description, but never seek to improve their skills.

It is the Christian that does just enough to clear their conscience.

It is the church that thinks because it is ministry, it is okay to be mediocre.

But God has not called us to be mediocre, but God has called us to be excellent. Like Daniel he has called us to have an excellent spirit.

And when you have an excellent spirit:

Every student strives for an A.

The athlete pushes themselves to the next level.

The employee seeks to improve their skills.

The Christian desires to grow in their relationship with God.

And the church strives to fulfill the GREAT commission, and does not settle just for a good one.

And the question that I have for you today is, “Do you have an excellent spirit?”

But why is having an excellent spirit so important?

It’s important because it impacts our witness.

To give you some background of our text, ever since God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt back in the book of Exodus, God has been trying to get the Israelites to be obedient and find their identity completely in Him. He sends judges and prophets, but they still couldn’t get it together. So as a way of disciplining them, God allows their home Jerusalem to be destroyed and to be taken captive by this King named Nebuchadnezzar, who was the king of Babylon. Now when they get to Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar asked one of his officials to bring him Israelite men that were wise, good-looking, had knowledge and could understand quickly so they could serve in his palace. In other words, King Nebuchadnezzar who didn’t have a relationship with God was looking for excellence.

And Four out of the men that were chosen were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Most of you know Daniel, but the other three you may know by their Babylonian names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.

So King Nebuchadnezzar interviews all the men and he finds that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego are the best, even better than the people he already had working for him. They had an excellent spirit, and because of their excellent spirit, Chapter 2 ends with this nonbelieving King Nebuchadnezzar praising God, Chapter 3 ends with King Nebuchadnezzar praising God, and chapter 4 ends with King Nebuchadnezzar praising God.

It is their excellent spirit that gave them access to the ear of a king that had no relationship with God.

And there are some people and places that God needs us to take the gospel to that won’t be attracted to the Bible in your hand, but to your excellent spirit.

· It’s the A student that may only be able to share Jesus with the atheists professor.

· It’s the star athlete that may only be able to reach the nonbelieving coach.

· It’s the excellent employee that may only be able to get to the nonbelieving boss.

· It’s the excellent music, excellent preaching and the excellent video quality that churches produce that may only be able reach the next generation.

Because one day, somebody is going to notice your excellent spirit and ask you what is it that causes you to do things the way you do and like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, you can say it is Jesus, the Lord Almighty. My Creator is excellent, and because I have an excellent creator, I have no choice but to be excellent.

Having an excellent spirit is important because it impacts our witness.

Transition

So in chapter 5 we find out that King Nebuchadnezzar has died, so his son becomes king, but he doesn’t acknowledge God the way his father did in Chapters 2, 3, and 4. So by the end of chapter 5 he is killed off and third king rises to power named King Darius which is where we are in chapter 6 right now.

In chapter 5 King Nebuchadnezzar has died, his son becomes king, but he doesn’t acknowledge God the way his father did so he is killed and Chapter 6 we see another king who doesn’t believe in God

When King Darius rises to power, he has conquered all of this territory and because he is a smart guy and recognizes that he just one person with two eyes and all this territory, so he places 120 satraps (or government officials) to watch over his land. But again, because he is a smart guy, he recognizes that with 120 satraps somebody is going to get power hungry and start doing some shady business under the table. So he places three governors over the 120 satraps, in which Daniel was one of them.

(End with witness, the same way I started – Darius like King Nebuchadnezzar ends with praising God)

But in verse 3, the text tells us that Daniel had such an excellent spirit that he distinguished himself above all the satraps and governors, that King Darius wanted to promote him to be over the entire realm.

Satraps and Governors Jealous

And of course you know this makes the 120 satraps and the other two governors jealous. And if you listen carefully between the verses, you can hear their spirit of entitlement speaking out saying...

How dare King Darius think about promoting Daniel over us, we’ve been working here longer.

Daniel wasn’t even born here, he’s a foreigner.

Some of us are older than Daniel and has more experience than Daniel.

I’m more educated than Daniel

And though all of that may have been true none of them had an excellent spirit like Daniel.

Anybody ever had some people that were jealous of you because you were being elevated. They didn’t quite understand how you got the promotion or became team captain when they were more qualified than you were. But it was because there was this excellent spirit on the inside of you.

When you have an excellent spirit, sometimes it doesn’t matter what your resume is, sometimes you will find yourself sitting at tables and walking through doors that usually only people who are more qualified than you are able to do.

Because when you have an excellent spirit, then sometimes you will find yourself sitting at tables and walking through doors that usually only people who are more qualified than you are able to do.

Daniel Doesn’t Dial Down His Excellence

And what I like about Daniel is that Daniel is not the type of person that will dial down is excellence because other people can’t handle it.

You ever had that one class that everybody knew was hard because the teacher gave impossible test where everybody seem to fail?

But the good news was that the teacher graded on a curve, and so before the test you had a preliminary class meeting where everybody agreed that if we all got 50% on the test we all get A’s.

So you go in and take the test, but then their is this Daniel with an excellent spirit that decides to ruin the curve.

So like the satraps and the governors you wait for them on the outside of class to give him a peace of your mind.

Listen, I don’t know which student you are, but don’t ever allow average people to convince you to dial down your excellence.

(End with witness, the same way I started – Darius like King Nebuchadnezzar ends with praising God)

So now the question is how do I get and maintain an excellent spirit? This is in no way an exhaustive list, but these are the things we can learn from Daniel.

Daniel doesn’t stop being excellent because of the people around him.

The first point is not found in chapter 6, for you would have to read at least the first three chapters of Daniel in order to get this. But don’t worry I did the work for you.

Remember, in Chapter 1, King Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed Jerusalem, he brought the Israelites over to Babylon, and began looking for wise, quick learning or excellent people. And when he interviewed everybody he didn’t only see that Daniel had an excellent spirit, but Daniel had three excellent friends named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.

Remember, in Chapter 1, King Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed Jerusalem, he brought the Israelites over to Babylon, and began looking for wise, quick learning or excellent people. And when he interviewed everybody he didnt only see that Daniel had an excellent spirit, but Daniel had three excellent friends named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.

That’s my first point. The first way to get and maintain an excellent spirit is that you must have excellent friends.

(Chapter 3 and 6 parallel)-they are the same thing.

And if the truth be told, many of us don’t like hanging around people with an excellent spirit because we can’t handle the conviction.

You ever met somebody that had this spirit about them that when they walked into the room it just made you want to get yourself together.

Some of us don’t like hanging around people with an excellent spirit because it shows us how much we need to grow.

So what do we do? We push those people away and we surround ourselves with people that are either doing just as much as we are, or as less than we are because when people around me are doing less than me it makes me FEEL excellent.

I like hanging around people who get D’s because it makes me feel better about my C.

I like hanging around people who got a lot of problems because it makes me feel better about the problems I do have that I know I should have dealt with a long time ago.

I like hanging around people who don’t go to church, because it makes me feel good about the one or two times I go.

So if you’re trying to figure out why is it that I can’t move from a C to an A or grow in your relationship with God, you may have to consider who your friends are.

Listen ask yourself a couple questions really quick.

How many friends (not mentors) do I intentionally hang out with on regular basis that are doing better than me?

Or how many friends do I hang out with that is doing better than me in school?

Or How many friends do I hang out with that are spiritually doing better than me?

As the old proverb rings true: Show me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are.

The first point is that we must have excellent faith. And in this context, when I say excellent faith, I’m talking about uncompromising faith.

Because the satraps and the governors are jealous of Daniel, in verse 4 they begin trying to dig up some dirt up on him. They try to find something on Daniel where he has broken the law, but because Daniel had an excellent spirit, you wouldn’t find Daniel on the 10 o’clock news or in a newspaper headline saying that he embezzled money or sexually harassed someone like we have seen from some of our government officials.

When it came to the law of the land, Daniel was a straight up guy. You wouldn’t find Daniel on the 10 o’clock news or in a newspaper headline saying that embezzled money or sexually harassed someone like we have seen from some of our government officials. Daniel was squeaky clean when it came to the law of the land, so they couldn’t find anything on him.

Daniel was squeaky clean when it came to the law of the land, so they couldn’t find anything on him.

So what they decide to do is set Daniel up. They knew Daniel was from Jerusalem and that he was faithful to his God. So since they couldn’t find anything on him when it came to the law of the land, they decided to convince King Darius to make a law that would conflict with his faith.

And to appeal to King Darius’ ego, the law stated that for 30 days everyone must pray to King Darius as their god, and if anyone prays to any other god other than King Darius, they would be thrown into a den of lions.

What do you do when public law conflict with your faith?

What do you do when you are Nadia Eweida, a Christian and British Airways employee, who is told by her bosses that she can’t wear her white gold cross visibly?

What do you do when you are a doctor in Victoria, Australia where you are forced to do the abortion or assign a doctor that will, even though you believe abortion is wrong?

Now we have Kim Davis, a clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky, refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Her decision is based on religious conviction. Judge David L. Bunning ordered her jailed.

What do you do when you are Azusa Pacific University, my school, a Christian university that has historically recieved certain public funding, specifically for student scholarships, but because your doctrinal statement doesn’t quite line up with same-sex marriage, you find yourself having to decide on whether to change your doctrinal statement or run the risk of students not coming to your school because it cost to much?

And I brought those examples up not to convince you or debate you if those things are right or not, but because they were situations where people that worked in public places, who had certain beliefs that didn’t line up with public law.

What do you do when your conviction doesn’t line up with public laws?

I won’t tell you what to do, but I’ll tell you what Daniel did. Because Daniel had an excellent spirit, verse 10 says that when Daniel knew that King Darius had signed the law, he went back home, went up to his room, opened his windows towards Jerusalem, got down on his, and begin to pray and give thank towards the only one and true living God.

We live in a generation where public laws will increasingly become in conflict with your faith. And if you are going to have an excellent spirit, you must recognize that your faith is not something you just get to turn on and turn off when you enter your job or go to school.

If you want to get and maintain and excellent spirit, you must have excellent, uncompromising faith.

Have Excellent Habits

This second thing that Daniel teaches us is that if you are going to get and maintain an excellent spirit, then you must have excellent habits.

At the end of verse 10, the text tells us that when Daniel went up to his room to pray, it wasn’t the first time he did that, but it was his “custom as in early days.” In other words, prayer was a habit he had developed ever since he was a youth.

Most couples have tension over large things like finances, but for Paige and I, we have tension when we are pout and we trying decide on what to eat. And in those times of uncertainty and anxiety, if you ask Paige, she will tell you that I will give 1 or 2 places: El Pollo Loco or The Habit Burger.

At the end of verse 10, the text tells us that when Daniel went up to his room to pray, it wasn’t the first time he did that, but it was his “custom as in early days.” In other words, prayer was a habit he had developed ever since he was youth.

They are my habits. They are places that I have tried and that has never let me down.

A habit is what you will fall back on when you don’t know what else to do or when you are in a time of anxiety.

That is why a person can go on a diet, but let that person have a bad day and watch that bad day turn into a cheat day, because in times of anxiety we will fall back onto the things that are habits.

And though Daniel had excellent faith, it doesn’t mean that he didn’t have to deal with the anxiety of knowing that if he was to pray to God, he would potentially be eaten to death by lions.

But because Daniel had excellent habits, in this time of anxiety he fell back on a God he had tried and that had never let him down.

When you are going through times of anxiety and rough seasons in your life, what are the habits that you fall back on?

Is smoking that you fall back on?

Is it drinking that you fall back on?

Is it sex that you fall back on?

Is it depression that you fall back on?

Is it quitting that you fall back on?

When things happen in your life, what are the habits that you fall back on?

Because if you are going to have an excellent spirit, you have got to have excellent habits.

The third thing that Daniel teaches us is that if you are going to get and maintain an excellent spirit, then you must serve an excellent God.

Since Daniel was praying to God, doing exactly what the satraps wanted him to do, the satraps and the governors go to his home and finds him praying. They take it to the king, but the king doesn’t want to throw Daniel into the lion’s den. But because it is law, the king orders Daniel to be thrown in to the lion’s den, but not without telling him “Your God, whom you continually serve not MAY, but WILL deliver you.”

So they seal the lion’s den up. And that night King Darius couldn’t and couldn’t sleep. And when day break came, the king rose up early in the morning, and when he came to lion’s den, he cried out “Daniel, has your God, that you continually serve been able to deliver you from the lions?”

And Daniel said “O king. O king. My God sent His angel and shut mouths of the lions that they may not hurt me.”

And verse 23 says the king ordered that Daniel be taken out of the lion’s den and they found no injury on him because Daniel believed in HIS God.

Listen, I don’t know what God you serve, but

I serve such an excellent God that he can shut the mouth’s of hungry lions.

Listen, I don’t know what God you serve, but I serve such an excellent God that can shut the mouth’s of hungry lions

I serve an excellent God that can cause the lame to walk, the blind to see, and the deaf to hear.

I serve an excellent God that can take a woman by the name of Sarah, a woman whose biological clock has stopped ticking, and give her the ability to have children.

I serve such an excellent God that he can take a sea, split it in half, and have people walk across it on dry ground.

I serve such an excellent God that he can allow Daniel’s friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego to be thrown in to a fiery furnace, meet them inside of the fire, protect them and have them come out with no burns.

I serve such an excellent God, that when you are disobedient, he will allow you hit rock bottom, but he will go to the bottom with you.

I serve such an excellent God that even though I deserved to die, he loved me so much that he took on human flesh through his son Jesus, walked this earth for 33 years, died on the cross for our sins, and pulled off his own resurrection.

I serve such an excellent God so I have no choice, and because I was made in the image of an excellent God I have no choice, but to be excellent.

I must have excellent faith. I must have excellent habits. And I must serve an excellent God.

I’m going to end this the way I started it.

Turn to your neighbor and ask them: “Do you have an excellent spirit?”

4. Have Excellent Friends(Chapters 1-3).