Dare to Be a Daniel

Our Theme for 2021 is “Redeeming the Time.”

We have been going through the book of Daniel and talking about how God preserves His people and guides them through difficult times.

We have talked about Daniel’s faithfulness to God and God’s faithfulness to Daniel.

Growing up in Sunday School, we used to sing a song about Daniel called “Dare to be a Daniel”

Standing by a purpose true Heeding God's command Honor them, the faithful few All hail to Daniel's band

Many mighty men are lost Daring not to stand Who for God had been a host By joining Daniel's band

Dare to be a Daniel Dare to stand alone Dare to have a purpose firm Dare to make it known

There are very few characters in the Bible which are perfect role models, most of them have flaws which the scripture lets us know to assure us that God uses imperfect people.

The two for which nothing negative is mentioned are Joseph and Daniel.

Both of these men were taken as prisoners to other countries.

Both were used by God in the midst of very difficult circumstances.

Both rose to great positions against great odds.

You might say that we never learn about any character flaws in these men because whatever internal struggles they may have had is worked out against the backdrop of their external struggles.

It’s easy to say, “Be like Daniel!”

But are any of us prepared to go through what Daniel went through?

Being forcibly taken from our homeland and subjected to brainwashing.

Seeking God desperately for revelation to save the lives of him, his friends and countless others like him.

Standing up to the most powerful king in the world and delivering a message from God to repent or else...

He did that twice!

Rather that just saying, “Be like Daniel” it should be like the song, “Dare to be a Daniel!”

Do you have what it takes to stand?

Are you willing to become a host for God by joining Daniel’s band?

It’s easy to believe God when times are good, but how do we find faith in difficult times?

Tests are circumstances which are designed to show us what we are made of.

This is where we find out which is stronger, our human weakness or the image of God in us?

Time and Providence will show that surrendering to God leads to human thriving.

So what exactly are we daring to do?

Dare to be Trusted

Daniel 6:1–3 ESV

1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; 2 and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

So when we last talked about Daniel, he is being offered thee top spot in the kingdom, the only catch was that the kingdom fell that night!

Babylon was taken over by the territories to the north and east - modern day northern Iraq and Iran (Kurdistan).

One again, Daniel rises to the top.

Darius surely heard about the “writing on the wall” and promoted the guy who had the guts to tell King Balshazzar he was finished.

Daniel had a reputation for telling the truth even when it wasn’t to his benefit.

Be known for doing what is right.

The scripture says he had an “excellent spirit.”

There was something about his presence that was beyond the usual.

It wasn’t like a “charming” kind of presence, because that often turns out to be not so excellent.

Daniel had a commanding presence because he could be trusted and that was backed up by a track record of right decisions.

When I was a youth growing up in the church, I remember feeling confused by so many mixed messages. People telling me not to do certain things, but then the same people would do the things that they were telling me not to do.

It’s kind like when we check the box that says, “I have read and agree to the terms and conditions” But who actually reads pages of legal jargon?

I began to think that perhaps the Bible is just a book that everyone pretends to follow, but nobody actually does. Then I was praying about it and came across this scripture in 1 Timothy and I heard God say, “Joel, are you willing to do what is right even if no one else does?”

1 Timothy 4:12 NLT

12 Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.

So maybe you don’t have many good examples in your life; you can still be that example.

Notice Daniel’s position.

There are 120 rulers appointed over what historians tell us was about 70-80 regions.

Over them there were three “high officials”appointed “so that the king may suffer no loss”

In other words, the three “high officials” were tasked with keeping the 120 honest.

Daniel was one of those three.

That’s how much the king trusted Daniel.

Be consistent in your convictions.

Daniel 6:4–5 ESV

4 Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

A friend of mine once told me that he gave up lying because it was to hard to remember all the lies that he told. It became too difficult to remember all of the stories that he told to different people and to keep straight what he had told to whom. “It’s so much easier to just tell the truth!”

Daniel was known for the truth, even if it was unpopular.

He was consistent.

He would say it as nicely as he could, but he would always tell the truth.

You are not likely to catch Daniel in a lie, or to trap him into making a mistake.

Everybody knows that Daniel does thing by the book.

The only people who have problem with doing things by the book are people who are trying to get away with something - that’s not going to fly with Daniel.

That is why some of the leaders decided they needed to get rid of Daniel.

It’s understandable that of the 120 regional leaders, some of them might have a problem with Daniel - they are the reason that he is in the position that he is in.

But it says that the other “high officials” were also in on this conspiracy.

There’s only three “high officials”, so the other two are corrupt.

They are the ones that are supposed to be spotting and preventing corruption.

Here’s what’s at stake here: Daniel is the only one standing in the way of the greatest nation on earth being completely overrun by corruption!

If you can’t turn a good person bad, then you have to make it bad to be good.

It’s the oldest trick in the book for getting rid of good people - they have to find a way to outlaw religion.

So what do you do?

Follow your principles.

Daniel 6:6–9 ESV

6 Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! 7 All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.

This sounds a lot like chapter 3, except that instead of making everybody bow to a statue of the king, they are making the king the sole mediator of all prayers, petitions and requests.

Not only are they making him out to be a god in a unified state religion, but for a limited period of time, he is the only priest as well.

They are playing on the king’s ego and tempting his insecurity to think that absolute control would somehow be desirable.

But in doing so they are making an antichrist, a false copy of God’s plan.

1 Timothy 2:5 ESV

5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

If anyone took the time to think this through, I’m sure they would have seen that this is not a good idea!

But the language of the text implies that a bunch of them came all at once and pushed this piece of legislation through before anyone had time to question it.

They claimed to represent all of the officials, even Daniel as approving of this matter and it’s urgency.

Once the king signed on the dotted line, there was nothing even he could do about it.

One thing this country had going for it was that at least they believed in the rule of law.

Once a law is made, it cannot be changed.

The key ingredient to good character is consistency.

People need to know what they can expect from you.

Do you know who is completely consistent in His character? - God is!

He is faithful!

Dare to be Faithful

We began this series by saying that “God is faithful!”

Our appropriate response to God’s faithfulness is to be faithful to what we know about God.

This “mirroring” is the essence of relationship.

Think about it:

As babies, we learn to communicate by mimicking the sounds, gestures and facial expressions of others.

We learn how to behave as children by mirroring adults.

In courtship we learn to notice what makes the other person happy, what they respond to and we do that to make them like us.

So how do we mirror God’s faithfulness?

By reflecting the attributes that we see in God.

By not giving in to the things that would try to turn us away from God.

Don’t give in to pressure.

Daniel 6:10–11 ESV

10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. 11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God.

So what was Daniel’ reaction when they railroaded through a piece of legislation that was specifically designed to take him down?

He did exactly what he always did, prayed and worshipped the God of Israel.

We don’t have any indication that he ever tried to fight it.

We know that he knew about it.

He had to know that he was walking right into a trap.

But if changes his behavior to avoid prosecution, he risks an even greater offense - losing his connection to God who is the source of his strength.

Talk about pressure - what would you do?

A popular quote which has has been attributed to numerous authors is the question: “If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

Daniel didn’t even try to hide the evidence.

He willingly embraced the charge… and the consequences.

I’m not suggesting that we dive headlong into a battle that will lead to persecution.

We avoid trouble where we can, even the most devout believer will flee if necessary.

But a question that we must ask ourselves before we respond is, “am I doing this in faith or out of fear?”

Am I relying on myself or someone other than God or am I acting in obedience?

Don’t give in to discouragement.

Daniel 6:12–15 ESV

12 Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 13 Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.” 14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. 15 Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”

Notice who is discouraged here… not Daniel!

I find it interesting that, even though their intention is to trap Daniel, the one who gets trapped into doing something that he doesn’t want to do is King Darius!

Darius does not want Daniel to go to the lions and he spends all day trying to find a legal way around it.

Ancient laws sometimes contained the clause that the law must be enforced before sundown and that seems to be the case here.

The question is often raised whether Christians should always obey the law?

You would think that Darius, being the king, would be able to make an exception.

The problem is that once you make an exception to the law, the law becomes arbitrary - the law loses its force.

James 2:10 CEV

10 If you obey every law except one, you are still guilty of breaking them all.

The nature of law is that even those who make the laws (especially those who make the laws) must obey the laws.

Daniel knowingly breaks the kings law, why?

Because this law has one purpose, to make him have to chose between obeying God or obeying the king.

Based on all that we have learned so far from this book, which do you think Daniel is going to choose?

Yes, obey God, because the kings authority comes from God and therefore he is the higher authority.

Daniel has one place of appeal and that is to God Himself.

If your appeal is going to be to God, then you certainly don’t want to disobey God by obeying a rule that is contrary to God.

The choice that we have, in those rare cases where we need to break the rules, is to accept the consequences.

Throughout history, Christians have had to endure consequences of choosing to obey God rather than man.

They have lost homes, jobs an money.

They have needed to leave regions and countries to start over in another place.

They have been mocked, beaten and killed for following Christ.

John 15:18–19 NLT

18 “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.

Why would Jesus warn us about being hated? So that you won’t be discouraged when it happens.

It doesn’t mean that you are doing anything wrong - you may be doing exactly what is right - and that’s what they hate!

Corrupt people don’t want you to be right - they want you to be like them.

Let me let you in on a secret - people who act tough are really scared!

Don’t give in to fear.

Daniel 6:16–18 ESV

16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” 17 And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

Through most of this story we are seeing the king’s reactions, but we are not told about Daniel’s responses.

However verse 16 may provide a clue: The king prays for Daniel’s deliverance!

Where did he get that idea? From Daniel perhaps?

Just because you face some impossible situation or crisis, know that God always has the last word.

God shows up in the impossible!

They say, “It’s darkest just before the dawn”

If that’s true, it’s because we are tired from waiting.

I’s also said that the time when most people give up is right before the breakthrough.

Daniel was delivered from the lions; however many others have died waiting for their moment of breakthrough.

The good news is that you can’t lose!

Even if you die, you win!

If you die for the sake of the gospel, your reward is waiting for you.

If you die trusting God for healing, you are still healed.

Death is not the worst thing that can happen; dying without Jesus is!

Daniel wasn’t the only one to face lions.

Christians in first-century Rome were often handed the same punishment, not for doing wrong, but for doing right.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Volumes 1–5 ((g) Christianos Ad Leones)

Very soon when disasters began to fall thickly upon the Roman empire, the blame was laid upon the Christians....Now in times of disaster Christians became the scapegoats. If famine, drought, pestilence, earthquake or any other public calamity threatened, the cry was raised “the Christians to the lions.” This view of Christianity as subversive of the empire survived the fall of Rome. The heathen forgot—as the apologists showed—that Rome had been visited by the greatest calamities before the Christian era and that the Christians were the most self-sacrificing in periods of public distress, lending (assistance) to pagan and Christian alike.

I may be wrong, but it appears that times like these may be happening again in America.

This is not a time for fear, but a time for faith; a time to rise above the normal reactions and to demonstrate courage that can only come from God.

It’s time to “dare to be a Daniel!”

We will not cower in fear, but like Daniel, we are going to thrive, even in Babylon!

Dare to Prosper

I think it is important in the coming days that we are prepared to be resilient through difficult times.

Part of that is being prepared for suffering and enduring hardship.

But part of that is also cultivating a sense of hope and expectancy for God’s goodness, because that is ultimately our destiny!

We see God’s goodness in Daniel’s story as well.

Live expecting miracles.

Daniel 6:19–20 ESV

19 Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

I keep saying Daniel’s story, but Darius keeps showing up as that primary character in the story.

He get’s “best supporting actor” for helping us to understand a lead who is barely mentioned.

I wonder what kind of influence Daniel must have had on Darius?

He came out of retirement to become one of Darius’ top three and was in the process of becoming the top one.

He was already a legend in that part of the world because of his wisdom and his ability to interpret dreams.

The other thing that he was known for was his impeccable character, honesty and integrity.

The truth is, we don’t actually know much about Daniel. Most of what we know is what we learn from his interactions with others.

And here is another time we learn about Daniel through someone else.

King Darius has been fasting - where did he learn that?

He has probably been praying all night - who taught him to pray?

And now we see him exercising great faith - wait, what?

He’s coming to the lions den and calling for Daniel!

Have you ever thought about it, that He wouldn’t be there if he didn’t expect a miracle?

If he were not expecting a miracle, he would have sent someone else to look in and give him a report of the inevitable.

But he goes himself, calling out for Daniel.

The other high officials devised what they thought was a plan to get rid of Daniel, but God used it to draw the heart of King Darius (whom He was going to use to restore Israel) to faith!

Live expecting God’s favor.

Daniel 6:21–24 ESV

21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.” 23 Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24 And the king commanded, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and cast into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. And before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

God is good, but life is not always good.

There are times that we suffer for doing what is right, but that does not make it wrong to do right.

There is a rebellion going on in the unseen realm to try to keep us from seeing and responding to God’s goodness.

God’s grace and favor will win in the end, but in the mean time we are tested to see if humans will respond to God in ways that many heavenly beings did not.

You can trust God’s favor - anything that is not good is not God and He will deliver you in the end.

God doesn’t cause suffering, but He uses suffering for His glory.

God turns bad things into good things, that’s who He is and it’s what He does.

I find it amusing that Daniel’s reply to the king was “live forever!”

I’m sure that’s what he was used to saying out of obligation.

Like saying, “long-live the Queen!

But in this case King Darius may really live forever because he is putting his faith and trust in the God of Daniel.

It doesn’t matter who you are, there is only one way to live forever and that is to put your faith in Jesus Christ.

Live expecting God’s Kingdom.

Daniel 6:25–28 ESV

25 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you. 26 I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. 27 He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.” 28 So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

God’s Kingdom is forever!

So far we have learned that whole point of the book of Daniel is to recognize that God is God and we are not.

Now let’s expand on that; God has a plan and a purpose that He is accomplishing throughout history.

He is writing history as we speak!

We watch the news and get all caught up pandemics, politics, race riots and reports of fraud and corruption.

All of that has been around since the Babylonian empire.

What is not around is the Babylonian empire, or the Medo-Persian Empire or the Roman Empire.

Man-made Empires come and go; but the spirit behind those empires simply reemerges as something else.

What has not gone away is the Kingdom of God.

Jesus Christ is the rock in Nebuchadnezzar's dream that topples all the empires of men.

That rock has been growing into a mountain; slowly, steadily and surely!

Are you living for yourself or for the Kingdom?

Most of us want to feel accomplished about what we achieve in our lifetime.

But living for the Kingdom means that our life is just a seed that is planted and the fruit may not be seen in our lifetime.

Next time we are going to zoom out and look at the big picture by looking at some of Daniel’s dreams and visions.

Questions for reflection:

Can you be trusted? Are you consistent in your character and convictions? Do people know what to expect from you? Can God give you a really big assignment and know that you will follow through?

Are you faithful? In what ways to you mirror God’s character? What is the source of your strength? When you find yourself caught between fear and faith, which side usually wins?

Have you ever been in trouble for doing what is right? You’re in good company! How might you put that experience in perspective? Are you living for a Kingdom that is vastly bigger and outlasts the kingdoms of this world?