Transforming Courage

How do we talk to God? (Through prayer). How does God talk to us? (Through his word).

Daniel 6:16–28 KJV 1900

Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceeding 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 manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den. Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Illustration:

The Boy Scouts are known for being prepared for whatever situation they might encounter. They carry the appropriate tools and supplies to help them be ready for wilderness survival.  If we are living as citizens of heaven in this world, we are going to run into pain. It’s a guarantee. The only thing not guaranteed is how we will respond to it. We need to prepare by determining beforehand to persevere and remain faithful through persecution or trial, knowing that others’ coming to faith might hinge on our own faithfulness. Daniel’s courage amid persecution led to the transformation of a nation.

That’s all great and Daniel was amazing but how do I get that kind of courage? this may be a question you ask yourself! Well, let’s look at a few things about courage this evening and how we can obtain Daniel like courage.

1. Courage Begins with Faithfulness

Explanation:

Daniel courageously obeyed God in spite of being different and being persecuted for it. When Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den as a punishment for continuing to pray to the God of Israel, the king of Babylon expressed his sincere hope that Daniel’s God would save him since Daniel had been faithful (vs. 16). After many years of seeing Daniel consistently live out his beliefs, the pagan king was starting to soften toward the idea that Daniel’s God was the “living God” (vs. 20).

Illustration:

Something I’ve noticed over the week is that some of you guys (ok all of you) like to come and just watch the fire burn. You love to watch the flames shoot into the air and listen to wood crack and pop. I’ll admit I like it too! 

John Wesley once said, “Light yourself on fire with passion and people will come from miles to watch you burn.”

John Wesley once said, “Light yourself on fire with passion and people will come from miles to watch you burn.”

Application:

Do you have a passion to burn bright for Christ? Are people enjoying watching you burn in your passion for God?

If you want courage like Daniel had to face a lion’s den, become a slave to a pagan nation, live without any other godly influence than it’s going to have to start with you being faithful to Gods word! 

Do you think your Pastor or Ben would have the zeal to serve the Lord and take you all to camp every year if they weren’t walking with God every day? Let me answer that for you, NO WAY!  

Transition:

Courage begins with Faithfulness. Faithfulness to God’s word, prayer, church, witnessing (in other words walking with God). But if we want the courage Daniel had not only does it begin with faithfulness but courage also…

2. Courage Continues With Steadfastness

Explanation:

People may not like our beliefs or our different lifestyles, but they are still drawn to watch. If we walk with courage and integrity, we will be walking miracles, testimonies of the reality of God, because those qualities are truly rare in our pagan society. We don’t have to seek out positions of influence in order to evangelize; we just live our lives faithfully day in and day out as citizens of another Kingdom, and people will notice. They may even come to know our God as their own.

Now I’m not advocating lifestyle evangelism only! I honestly believe this should be coupled with speaking the Gospel.

Illustration:

We Love going door to door soul winning. We go so much it has become one of my daughter’s favorite activities. You should see her as we walk down the street she has a tract in hand and wats to give one to every person the walks past her! She wants to be the first one to the door so she can knock on it she absolutely loves it and so do I!

But aside from this, we have tried to live like we belong to God as well and we have literally had people come up and ask us if we were Christians. I don’t know if you realize how big of a deal that is for us! We live in Mexico so many times we are the only white people around and for someone to come up and say “are you a Christian?” Instead of “Are you all Americans?” that’s huge!!!

Application:

Do you other young people in your neighborhood, at your school, wherever you are seeing your faithfulness to the King? let me tell you the only way you are going to make an impact on those around you is if you are faithful and steadfast in your beliefs!  

The word steadfast means: “resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering.”

Are you unwavering no matter how unpopular it may make you? saying no to things people offer you because you’re a “CHRISTIAN”! 

Don’t ever take that title lightly “Christian” and remember who you represent the next time you are offered with the decision to do wrong! you are representing Christ! I like what John Wayne said about courage.

Transition:

So not only does Courage begin with faithfulness and is continued with steadfastness but when we are doing all of this we Courage also…

3. Courage Ends With being Fully Dressed

Explanation:

all of you just looked down and said: “Yep Brother Trent I’m fully dressed!” That’s not quite what I mean.

The Bible says in Ephesians to put on the full armor of God. Well, how do we do that? We do that by being faithful and steadfast in our walk with God! Come on guys do you see how this all works together?

When we are being faithful to God and having a daily walk with him. This gives us the strength we need to be steadfast against anything and as a result, we will be fully armored and ready to fight the good fight God has for our lives! 

In other words, we are fully dressed for a battle for the king!

Illustration:

When a soldier gets ready for battle he wants to be fully dressed or fully prepared for what’s going to happen. He doesn’t know exactly what will happen if anything at all but he is always ready and prepared! what do you think happens to a soldier who goes to battle and forgets his helmet and gun? 

HE GONNA DIE!

Application:

Young people you listen to me you have the opportunity to be fully dressed and ready for battle! It’s easy here and we want it to be that way. Why? Because we want you to continue putting that armor on every day after this week!

We want you to be faithful, steadfast, and fully dressed. we want your testimony to stand out amongst all others in this pagan world we live in! So that Jesus shines brighter and we can point others to him!

Conclusion:

Daniel’s courage in the midst of persecution led to the transformation of a nation.

Are you living such a life that when others watch you that they are convinced that they need what you have? hows your testimony? Unfortunately, for many young people, they have many different testimonies. What does that mean? Well, they have one testimony with their parents and a different one with their friends. Their pastor thinks one way about them while the other youth in the church know something different about them!

You see Daniel didn’t have multiple testimonies he had one! It was a testimony of being faithful to God and trusting God and everyone saw the same thing! Doesn’t that sound so much easier than having to put up a front for some people?

Daniel said I don’t care what’s popular or if I’m being persecuted I am going to faithful to my God!!! Look at the end of verse 23 “and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.” No matter what type of persecution you face: no being liked or rejected, being made fun of, being left out, no matter what you will have no matter of hurt found on you if you simply believe in your God!  

Remember what I said just a minute ago? Daniel’s courage in the midst of persecution led to the transformation of a nation. Notice verse 26 “I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.” 

This is coming from a pagan worldly King! Your courage to stand with God can have tremendous outcomes! I bet Daniel never thought he would of been able to influence an entire nation just by being faithful to God. I can garentee you Daniel’s parents were proud of him!

Invitation:

I want every head bowed and every eye closed for just a moment.

Let me ask you something “Did God speak to you through this message and the story of Daniel?” Let me ask you another question “Are you 100% sure if you died right now you would go to heaven?”

This is what I would like each one of you to do use your chair there as an alter and take just a few moments and talk with God. Tell him you want to be courageous like Daniel was and to have the strength to be faithful, steadfast, and fully dressed. Go ahead and take just a few moments and if you don’t know if you are saved and want to know for sure heaven will be your home I want you to go talk to one of the adults right now. Don’t let another moment pass by without knowing Christ as your Savior.