INTRODUCTION
• Daniel’s story is compelling, not because of the supernatural but because of the persistent connection he has with God in the face of conflict.
• Daniel doesn’t have to run to God because he’s already walking with God.
• Certain lessons of life we can only learn in specific moments of life
o Conflict and crisis are life’s great teachers.
? We avoid them to our detriment. Something about them scares us.
• Daniel is an example of living well in the middle of suffering.
o Everything hinges on intimacy with God and loving others well.
• Convictions (habits) are built on integrity, lived out with courage and expressed with grace.
I. SETTING THE TRAP
• Daniel 6:1-10
• Daniel is now at the end of life 70-80 yrs old.
• Darius is now the King of Babylon and appoints Daniel to be one of three commissioners over the 120 satraps that lead the whole kingdom.
• Daniel is promoted which causes problems.
• The other commissioners and satraps conspire to trap Daniel.
o This is a picture of what the Enemy wants to do with good people.
o Daniel has been faithful and others want to take him out.
• Daniel 6:4-5, 10
4 Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. 5 So they concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.”
10 But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.
• Daniel 9:1-2 - Daniel discovers captivity will only be 70 years from Jeremiah.
• Daniel goes to prayer for his people.
• Daniel’s faith through conviction allows others to experience freedom.
• He knew that God was in control. He knew that in the end God will always have His way!
• Often we don’t see the much larger implications.
• When we lose our way with drama and fear we unhinge ourselves from our faith and we often unwittingly remove God from our circumstances.
• Prayer builds a foundation of faith that invites God in and reshapes circumstances we have no control over.
• When opposition comes Daniel doesn’t cry and complain he prays.
• For Daniel Prayer is a habit.
• Daniel didn’t react to people but responded to God.
II. SECRETS OF INFLUENCE
• Daniel is a man of hope, humility and wisdom.
o Hope (optimism) - More than a wish
? Means ‘I know, I know, I know’
? If we want to influence the world we have to be optimistic people.
? There is a time and a place to be sad. Just don’t live there.
? In the end God wins. People want to hear this!
? Panic and despair are never from God.
? Doesn’t always mean that there won’t be challenges!
o Humility
? Real humility looks like respect.
? Everyone deserves respect, even God’s enemies.
? God is not interested in wiping out enemies. He wants to win them over!
o Wisdom
? Daniel knew how to pick his battles.
? There is a big difference between what we don’t like and what God forbids.
? Daniel didn’t get offended!
III. PREFERENCE IN THE PIT
• Daniel 6:11-18
• The king respects Daniel.
o Doing what’s right doesn’t always keep us in the light! But convictions will always illuminate in darkness.
• Vs. 16 - So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.”
• Persevering in the pit begins with a habit of prayer.
• The greatest sign that God is real and He loves people, is His people’s ability to thrive in the pit.
• Daniel’s not afraid, He volunteered himself for a one way mission at 18 and God showed up.
• Our temptation is to think that if God showed up for me like He did for Daniel I would live like Daniel.
• Daniel chose to live by faith and put himself out there for God to meet him!!!
• He had to send it before he could see it!
• Humility - Daniel 6:19-24
19 Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lions’ den. 20 When he got there, he called out in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?” 21 Daniel answered, “Long live the king! 22 My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in His sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.”
• Peace and prosperity to you!
• Daniel 6:26-27, “I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and He will endure forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed, and His rule will never end. 27 He rescues and saves His people; He performs miraculous signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”
• Questions:
• What if I lived with optimism (hope)?
? Take some risks = Living with more “I know”
• How can I live with more Humility?
? Do I respect and love everyone?
? Do I see others as most valuable?
• What do I need to do to live with more wisdom?
? How can I become more aware of what’s happening around me than with me?
CLOSE
• Colossians 1:12-15, “May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light. 13 For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. 15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation.”
