Sermon Tone Analysis

Daniel 6

Those who kneel before the Lord will be enable to stand for the Lord.

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Daniel 6:16–23

The first six chapters of Daniel teach us how to live by faith in a secular world.

Daniel, like us, lived in a pluralistic culture.

He lived in this culture not by choice but by consequence.

The first six chapters of Daniel teach us how to live by faith in a secular world.

Daniel, like us, lived in a pluralistic culture.

He lived in this culture not by choice but by consequence.

Look at the opening verses of

Look at the opening verses of

1 It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, 2 with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel.

The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss.

3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

Look at the opening verses of Daniel 1

4 At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so.

They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.

5 Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

6 So the administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “O King Darius, live forever!

7 The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.

8 Now, O king, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

9 So King Darius put the decree in writing.

10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem.

Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

Later on in the chapter, we read …

Daniel is living in Babylon as a result of his people’s, the Israelite’s, sin.

tells us that Daniel was taken into this culture at a very young age.

We’ve been looking at Daniel for clues on how to live if you are a believer in only one true God in a society which is pluralistic, committed to the principle that there are many gods, religions, and moralities.

Today we take a look at the most famous of all the narratives.

As I’ll tell you near the end, it’s actually a problem for understanding this.

16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den.

The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” 17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed.

18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him.

And he could not sleep.

19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den.

20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”

21 Daniel answered, “O king, live forever!

22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions.

They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight.

Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king.” 23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den.

And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

Daniel is living in Babylon as a result of his people’s, the Israelite’s, sin.

tells us that Daniel was taken into this culture at a very young age.

This is God’s Word

They wanted to indoctrinate the future leadership for the purpose of indoctrinating the lay people.

Sometimes, if not most of the time, God’s allowances are mysterious.

Could not the Lord have disciplined his people in a different way?

Why captivity?

Why 70 years of exile?

He did this for their instruction and our illustration.

We’ve been looking at Daniel for clues on how to live if you are a believer in only one true God in a society which is pluralistic, committed to the principle that there are many gods, religions, and moralities.

Today we take a look at the most famous of all the narratives.

As I’ll tell you near the end, it’s actually a problem for understanding this.

Their captivity is not punishment but discipline.

The Lord wants to deliver His people from their idolatry.

His method of delivery is discipline.

Discipline is a means of instruction.

If you were tasked with their deliverance what would be your means of deliverance?

Our instinct tells us separation or isolation.

However, our Lord’s method is to send them into a pluralistic cultural.

He sends them into captivity with a mandate, infiltrate don’t assimilate.

Jeremiah 29:4going to deliver someone from the sin of idolatry The Lord is wanting to instruct His people.

They are constantly falling into idolatry.

We’ve been looking at Daniel for clues on how to live if you are a believer in only one true God in a society which is pluralistic, committed to the principle that there are many gods, religions, and moralities.

Today we take a look at the most famous of all the narratives.

As I’ll tell you near the end, it’s actually a problem for understanding this.

We are not called to pull out but to permeate the culture.

I believe that this segment of Israel’s history is here to illustrates for us Jesus teaching in

Matthew 5:11going to deliver someone from the sin of idolatry The Lord is wanting to instruct His people.

They are constantly falling into idolatry.

We’ve been looking at Daniel for clues on how to live if you are a believer in only one true God in a society which is pluralistic, committed to the principle that there are many gods, religions, and moralities.

Today we take a look at the most famous of all the narratives.

As I’ll tell you near the end, it’s actually a problem for understanding this.

I believe both the book of Daniel and Jesus himself are instructing and illustrating for us what our faith should express and what we should expect.

Jesus sermon and Daniel’s story instruct and illustrate two expressions.

We are to be salt.

Most Christian’s want to separate from the world and Jesus say we are the salt of world.

Salt is of no effective when it is separated.

What we see here is … It was impressed upon me as I studied this that we have a concrete illustration of what Jesus Christ himself says will characterize the lives of believers in the world.

There are three things Jesus Christ talks about as being characteristic of our lives in the world.

If you go to that very famous place in the Sermon on the Mount of , he says these three things.

He says, first of all, “Blessed are you when people … persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you …” Then he says, “You are the light of the world.

A city on a hill …” Then he also says, “You are the salt of the earth.”

There are three things Jesus says in the world you expect to be or experience, and those are salt, hurt, and light.

That’s what we see here with Daniel.

We see three very important principles of how we are supposed to be living in the world as believers in the only true God.

Where is Daniel at this point and time in his life?

Daniel has excelled in pagan Babylonian and in the government no less.

He was working in a corrupt system and yet he remained incorruptible.

The very first principle of how to live in the world warns us against separation from the world, trying to stay away from the world, trying to pull ourselves out of the world.

“You are the salt of the earth,” Jesus says, and you see it with Daniel.

What do you see?

Salt is an agent used to fight corruption.

Daniel was living out the Lord’s commission from the prophet Jeremiah that we read earlier.

Daniel is not working for his own advancement and for his own tribe’s advancement, but he’s working for the peace of the city.

He’s working for the safety and the advancement of the culture in the city.

What does that mean?

It means he’s a perfect example of what Jeremiah says, and he’s an example of what salt is.

For example, first of all, in some ways it’s good th

at this narrative almost summarizes everything we’ve seen all month.