#2 (THE "COURAGE"
SERIES)
"THE COURAGE TO PERSEVERE LIKE DANIEL!"
TEXT: Daniel
6:1-28
INTRO: The biggest
challenge for most people is not the knowledge of right and wrong but the
courage to do what is right! It is
not easy doing what is right, especially when other people pressure us to do
what is wrong – but the sweet reward of doing what is right can have powerful
effects in our own life and in the lives of others.
ILLUS: Peter
Cartwright was a 19th century circuit riding Methodist preacher, he was known as
a man who never compromised with what was right. One Sunday morning when he was to preach
he was told that President Andrew Jackson was in the congregation, so he was
warned not to say anything out of line. When Cartwright stood to preach he said,
"I UNDERSTAND THAT ANDREW JACKSON IS
HERE. I HAVE BEEN REQUESTED TO BE
GUARDED IN MY REMARKS. ANDREW
JACKSON WILL GO TO HELL IF HE DOESN'T REPENT!" The congregation was shocked and
wondered how the President would respond.
After the service President Jackson shook hands with Peter Cartwright and
said, "SIR, IF I HAD A REGIMENT OF MEN
LIKE YOU I COULD WHIP THE WORLD."
Peter Cartwright had the courage to do what was right!
– Source Unknown
The old virtue of perseverance to do
what is right is a needed quality in the Christian life today, there is much
pressure to give in to the world's standards to do what is wrong, we need the
courage to persevere in doing what is right.
PROP.
SENT:
The Bible teaches us to persevere in doing right no matter the pressures
that come against us! The rewards
for those who do are many, God's name is honored and many times we are
also!
A. Character 6:1-5, 10
1. A new king had arisen on the
throne, Darius the Mede; this was now the 3rd king Daniel had served
under.
2. Daniel was quite old at this point,
perhaps as old as 80 or even 90 something!
a.
He had served the first king around the age of 15 or
so.
b.
As an old man he had established certain practices in his life that were
not negotiable: honesty, hard work,
prayer, and a holy lifestyle!
c.
Daniel had persevered through several administrations already, always
with courage and strength to do the right things!
3. In fact, with a new administration
coming to power the king was looking for a few men he could trust his entire
kingdom to, he was looking for men who had demonstrated a lifelong commitment to
excellence ... such was the man Daniel!
a.
The king chose 120 satraps to rule, with 3 presidents over them all, the
new king was in the process of choosing one of those 3 presidents to rule over
the entire kingdom and one of the lots was falling to
Daniel.
b.
This caused jealousy among the others so that they planned Daniel’s
death!
4. Daniel's private life matched his
public life, he was the same in both arenas, this was the kind of man the king
could trust with everything.
a.
Note the list of things spoken here about Daniel
(1. “Daniel
distinguished himself among the others...”
(2. Daniel did so by “…his exceptional
qualities…”
(3. “his conduct of
government…” was without any faults!
(4. “…they could find
no corruption in him...”
(5. “he was
trustworthy and neither corrupt nor
negligent.”
(6. He prayed “3 times a day,
giving thanks to God” as a regular practice, not just his practice
under pressure!
b.
Imagine a government with men like this!
5. The other presidents were jealous
and hatched a plan to have Daniel killed, their private life and public life
were very different, they appeared publicly to care a great deal about the king
and his governing but privately they were just out to get everything they could
for themselves!
B. Corrupt!
6:6-9
1. How different were these other men,
they hatched a sure fire plan for getting Daniel in
trouble.
a.
The plan was simple, brown nose the new king by making him the object of
worship by the people, thus making the king feel good toward
them.
b.
Then make it against the law for 30 days to pray to any other god other
than the king, this seemed reasonable to the king after all it wasn't an extreme
measure, after 30 days everyone would be free again to worship who they saw fit
... certainly anyone could agree to such a small time factor like
this!
c.
The penalty however would be the lion's den and thus certain
death!
2. It is ironic that the success of
these evil men’s plan would depend on the consistency of Daniel’s prayer
life!
a.
I wonder how many Christians today
would have been found guilty during these 30 days.
b.
They knew that Daniel was a godly man who persevered in prayer and that
he was courageous enough to break the new law, he would never give up praying to
his God for 30 days!
3. These guys came off looking great
to the king, they appeared to have the king's interests at heart and the people
of the nation, but they were out to hurt the king and Daniel -- appearances
aren't always what is real!
ILLUS: A
BURGLAR IN
4. The stage was set, either Daniel
caved in under pressure or he certainly would face death, did he have the
courage to persevere?
II. PERSONAL
PRESSURES RESISTED! 6:11-18
A. Consistent!
6:10-11
1. As soon as Daniel learns of the
plan he is faced with a decision, do I obey the law of the king or the law of
God?
a.
Daniel had spent a lifetime obeying God's laws. When they conflicted with the king's like
when he was a young man he managed to find a compromise with the king's laws
that enabled him to still obey God's law without compromise:
(such as the eating meat from the king's table when he was young -- he
asked to obey God's laws and if his health suffered then he would obey the
king's laws, of course he was healthier and so he didn't have to conform to
man's laws, he won!)
b.
Daniel was not the kind of man who went backwards, he had spent a long
life in obedience to God and now he wouldn't back up!!
2. This would take great courage to
move forward, but going backwards wasn't in his vocabulary, it was impossible
for him!
ILLUS: THE NATION
OF
3. Daniel could have reasoned: "well, maybe if
I continue to pray I could do it without opening my windows toward Jerusalem and
then nobody would know except God" -- but to him this would have
meant giving up the hope and dream of faith that Jerusalem would again be
rebuilt, it would have been like giving up publicly his faith ... this wouldn't
be!
a.
It is interesting to read about these evil men so many times the phrase
"they went as
a group." 6:6,11,15, and implied in
b.
Corrupt people tend to stick together and do things
together!
c.
They encourage each other in their corruption, there really is something
to the phrase, “you become like those who hang around
with.”
4. They of course are not
disappointed, Daniel is as faithful as ever to pray, and they are all waiting in
the bushes to witness it!
a.
They counted on his faithfulness and his
perseverance to do what was right!
b.
How many Christians today would have been
convicted?
5. Daniel could have come up with
several good excuses not to pray openly:
a.
“Well, it is just for 30 days,
what would it hurt for that short period of time to not pray
openly?”
b.
"I have to think of how much good
I've done to date, is it really worth losing all that influence for just a 30
day time period."
c.
"God put me here, after all we are
suppose to obey the laws of the land."
d.
"I'm sure God will understand if I
don't pray publicly, I'll just do it quietly."
e.
"If I pray then I won't be able to
help others later."
6. Daniel resists the temptation to
give in or compromise, he has the COURAGE TO
PERSEVERE!
B. Compromise? 6:12-18
1. Now everything begins to happen, he
is brought up on charges of breaking the king's new law, a law that cannot be
compromised for any reason!
a.
This was the nature of the laws of the Medes and
Persians!
b.
No law could be repealed once it was made; this helped them to not make
laws without careful consideration first.
c.
The king who really liked Daniel was stuck! There could be no compromise; he has to
carry out the sentence of death on Daniel!
2. The king was so distressed that he
“made every
effort until sundown to save him.”
He was “determined to rescue
Daniel…”
a.
The sentence had to be carried out the same day by law! He waited until the last minute however
to carry it out hoping for a way out!
b.
The king was stuck, he now realized how conniving his other presidents
were and how noble Daniel had been, and his loss was going to be great! Daniel was even more valuable to him now
knowing how honest he had been, this is the kind of man you want to serve you as
a new king!
c.
It was no use, there was no way out of the law ... Daniel would have to
be thrown to the lions!
3. Daniel holds his dignity and
courage to the very end, there is no begging for his life here, he is prepared
to persevere to the bitter end, to trust in His God and not quit now or relax
his standards!
ILLUS: ON MARCH 6,
1987 EAMON COGHLAN, THE IRISH WORLD RECORD HOLDER AT 1500 METERS WAS RUNNING IN
A QUALIFYING HEAT AT THE WORLD INDOOR TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS IN INDIANAPOLIS. WITH JUST 2½ LEFT, HE WAS TRIPPED AND HE
FELL ... BUT HE GOT UP AND WITH GREAT EFFORT MANAGED TO CATCH THE LEADERS. WITH ONLY 20 YARDS LEFT IN THE RACE, HE
WAS IN 3RD PLACE, GOOD ENOUGH TO QUALIFY FOR THE FINALS, ONLY THE TOP 3
COULD. HE TURNED TOWARD THE INSIDE
TO SEE IF ANYONE WAS COMING UP ON HIM AND SEEING NO ONE HE RELAXED HIS PACE JUST
A BIT SO HE WOULDN'T BE TOO TIRED AFTER COMING IN 3RD PLACE; HOWEVER, HE DIDN'T
NOTICE ON THE OUTSIDE TRACK ANOTHER RUNNER THAT MANAGED TO PASS HIM A YARD
BEFORE THE FINISH LINE SINCE HE RELAXED HIS PACE THOSE LAST 20 YARDS ... IT COST
HIM 3RD PLACE -- HE FINISHED 4TH AND THUS MISSED BEING IN THE FINALS! AFTER ALL THAT EFFORT AND RECOVERY FROM
A FALL, RELAXING THAT LAST 20 YARDS COST HIM HIS GOAL! DON’T BE TEMPTED TO QUIT AT THE END --
NO MATTER THE ODDS AGAINST YOU, PERSEVERE TO THE END! – Source
Unknown
4. The king finally gives the order,
but at the last minute possible!
Daniel is thrown to the lions but not without the king’s offer of a
prayer for Daniel!
a.
He prays that Daniel's God will deliver him
somehow!
b.
Like another story we know very well, a large stone was rolled over the
entrance and sealed with signet rings to ensure no help for Daniel to
escape.
5. The king has the
rough night sleeping, NOT DANIEL!
a.
The king spent the night without eating,
without entertainment, without sleep!
b.
Daniel spent the night without being
eaten, with angelic entertainment, with peaceful rest!
III. PERSEVERANCE’S PRIZE
RECOGNIZED!
6:19-28
A. Conqueror! 6:19-23
1. As soon as sunup occurred the king
runs down to the lion’s den to check things out, he calls to Daniel hoping
against hope for a miracle!
2. To his utter amazement he gets a
response: "0 King, live
forever! My God has 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, 0
King."
a.
What a testimony to be able to give, to say you haven't done any wrong to
the king!
b.
Notice too how the king viewed Daniel's service to God in 6:20b. “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you
serve continuously, been able to rescue you from the
lions?”
c.
Daniel's perseverance with courage will now bring to light the nature
of the true God and the nature of someone who truly serves
God!
d.
This will set the true God apart from false gods, and will set a standard
for what a true servant of God is like, qualities that any king would love to
have under his control and serving him!
3. Daniel's example demonstrated the
power of God before a pagan world, there is no God like Daniel’s
God!
ILLUS: LIKE ONE OF OUR ASSEMBLY OF
GOD MISSIONARIES IN THE 1920'S NAMED LEONARD
4. The king was overjoyed!! Immediately he had Daniel lifted out of
the den!
a.
It is added here that no wound was even found on
Daniel!
b.
The king witnessed the power of the real
God!
c.
The king witnessed the power of a real believer!!! Do people
today???
d.
Daniel had brought to the attention of a new administration the presence
and power of the real God! Each new
generation needs to see the real thing!
B. Cleansing! 6:24
1. Knowing now what this king knew
about his other presidents he did not want to keep them, would you want to keep
them?
a.
The king has them thrown to the fate they planned for Daniel, even their
families are thrown in with them! This law of including the families was
intended to make men think before they committed a crime knowing their family
would suffer also, only the most selfish of men would do something wrong and
endanger their own family, thus this reveals the real hearts of these selfish
men!
b.
Before they reached the floor of the den they were killed by the lions,
remember, the lions hadn't eaten for a couple of days with Daniel
around!
c.
This also proves the nature of the miracle, Daniel's delivery couldn't be explained away
by well fed lions that simply weren't hungry, or that they had been fed the day
Daniel was thrown in so they wouldn't be hungry!
d.
Had they been fed the day before they would not have been this hungry
now! It was clearly a miracle of
God!
2. The kingdom was cleansed from
wickedness in high places! Their
sins caught up with them even as Daniel’s righteousness caught up with
him!
C. Conviction! 6:25-28
1. The conviction of Daniel now
becomes the king's conviction, he orders an edict that all people must fear the
living God of Daniel, and he proclaims and testifies on behalf of the miracle
Daniel's God did!
a.
He tells the nature of God throughout this pagan
empire!
b.
This is a God that performs signs and wonders!
c.
He is the living God!
2. God's name is honored in the land
and in some new hearts!
3. All this because Daniel had the
courage to persevere!
4. The conviction of the Holy Spirit
was felt all across the Medo-Persian Empire because of the faith of an old man
who had the courage to persevere in his faith!
a.
We must learn to persevere, to not give up; there is much at stake in
living consistently for the Lord.
b.
It might be a long time, but some day your faith and courage to persevere
will bare much fruit!
c.
Daniel too is honored here, but more importantly to him, God was
honored!
ILLUS: IN
5. Never underestimate the power of
persevering for the Lord, do it with courage and watch over your entire lifetime
what God will do with it!
CONCLUSION:
Daniel was very old when he was thrown to the lion's den, yet he still
had the courage to persevere in faith.
It would have been easy to compromise ... all he had to do was not pray
publicly for a few weeks, but he persevered and did what was right, consistent
with his whole life's witness.
Because he had the courage to persevere God's name was broadcast
throughout a pagan
nation!