Skip to content The Unshakable Spirit: Lessons from Daniel's Journey May 5 · 15 min ...more
The Unshakable Spirit: Lessons from Daniel's Journey
May 5, 2025 · 15 min
Exploring Daniel’s steadfast faith in leadership amidst trials, as he served with an 'excellent spirit' within a pagan empire.
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0:10 Good morning. Welcome to stand on the word. Thanks for joining me this morning. Alright. Today, we are in Daniel chapter 6, the last of the historical chapters. Verse 7, chapter 6, and all the high officials of the0:21 kingdom, the prefects, the satraps, the counselors, and the governors all agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce that whoever makes petition to any god or man for 30 days except to0:33 you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, most of the Bible stories about Daniel in the lion's den depict him as a child or a young man. But in reality, he was over 70 years0:45 old. At this point in his career, had served 7 different rulers. There were 6 kings, 1 co regent, and 1 governor. Now this account takes place after0:57 the fall of Babylon to the Medes and the Persians. The historical records about this individual named Darius are inconclusive. He may have been an interim1:09 governor prior to Cyrus entering Babylon or it could have been a title used for Cyrus as the term the word means lord. But we know that Daniel not1:20 only served the Babylonian administrations, but also when Babylon was conquered by the Medes and the Persians, Daniel was elevated to a position of leadership in a whole new rising empire.1:33 That's what we see here. So how did he manage to do that? Well, his focus was on God and serving him. He didn't jockey for position or power, but rather he was obedient to God and1:45 he served God. What we see in Daniel chapter 5 verse 16 to 17, it says this, Belshazzar called him out of semi retirement to interpret the handwriting on the wall. This is what he1:57 said. But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your2:06 neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then Daniel answered and said, before the king, let your gifts be for yourself and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the2:18 king and make known to him the interpretation. It wasn't about what he was going to get out of this. Wasn't promotion. Wasn't any kind of personal prosperity. And, you know, we're we're instructed to do the same2:30 thing because Daniel was serving the Lord. Look what Paul wrote in Colossians. Colossians 3 1 says, if you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is, sitting at the right2:42 hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on the things of this earth. This is simple in theory but difficult in practice. Daniel was confident in2:54 his calling to be a servant of God no matter the conditions or the circumstances, good or bad. Now when we fix our focus on serving the Lord, bringing glory and honor to him by conducting ourselves in a way3:06 that reflects who we are in him, then it matters not whether our words and actions align with biblical truth, if they draw applause or are met with apathy and antagonism. It3:17 doesn't matter because we're going to speak the truth. We're going to live for the Lord to bring honor and glory to him. Let's look at chapter 6 verse 1. It pleased3:29 Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps to be throughout the whole kingdom. A large, large territory that he was governing and so3:41 he had leaders that he dispatched all across these different regions and others and over them 3 high officials of whom Daniel was 1. So Daniel was 1 of the 3 leaders over all of these hundred and 20. To whom3:52 these satraps would give an account so that the king might suffer no loss. Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps because an4:04 excellent spirit was in him. What spirit? The spirit of God. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. Alright, so he was about to be elevated. Alright, he was going to be like next in line.4:16 He was going to be prime minister. But here is what we have to understand. God has high standards and that is why we do our work as unto the Lord. As Paul wrote in Ephesians4:28 6, this is what Daniel was doing. Daniel was not serving man but serving God. Ephesians six:five says, Bondservants, obey your earthly masters, that's what Daniel4:40 was doing, with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ. Not by the way of eye service, as people pleasers, you know, not just when people are watching, but as4:51 bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will5:02 receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. See, when you work for the Lord, the Lord is free to bless you and it's not limited to who you work5:14 for. Maybe you've bad balls. Maybe you've a company that's not very generous. It doesn't matter. If you're doing your work as unto the Lord, the Lord God is your employer. He's the 1 that will provide5:26 and he will bless and he will promote as we see here with the life of Daniel. Verse 4, Then the high officials and the satrap sought to find a ground for5:38 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. Then these men said, We shall not find any5:48 ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God. What a powerful statement. Think about this. The only way they could attack him was to show that he6:00 would not compromise his relationship with God even if it cost him his reputation, his position and, in this case, even his life. Think about that for a moment. Could that be said about you? Could it6:11 be said about me that our focus is serving the Lord? And the only thing that can be found against us to attack us is our allegiance to the Lord God.6:23 Verse 6, Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, O king Darius, live forever. All the high officials6:35 of the kingdom, the prefects, the satraps, the counselors, the governors all agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction that whoever makes petition to any god or man for 30 days except6:47 you, O king, shall be cast into the lion's den. They were appealing to his pride. They were just stroking his ego. Now, O king,6:58 establish an injunction and sign the documents so that it cannot be changed according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked. Therefore King Darius signed the7:10 document in injunction. When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he knew what was going on, went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem.7:22 He got down on his knees 3 times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he had done previously. Daniel didn't have what I would call the day that I7:34 have seen in some as like a Jesus chip daring somebody to knock it off just so that they can become, you know, a victim or that they can have a confrontation. That's not what Daniel was doing. It's not what we should be7:45 doing. We should just be serving the Lord and if someone comes after us or someone tries to stop us from praying, we just need to go ahead and do it anyway. And let the Lord7:56 work it out, as we'll see here. Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his god. Okay. They could not find fault with Daniel's work8:09 that might stop his rise and his influence, so they devised to elevate the government above God. That sounds awful familiar. These men sought to exclude followers8:21 of God, not just from government service, but in this case from society itself. We see this today, you know, that that people of faith should check their faith at the door of public service. Can't do it. Not if you're8:32 serving the Lord. So what did Daniel do? Well, he didn't shrink away or go silent or make a show. He did what was his custom and practice since his youth. He prayed to God 3 times a day with his8:44 windows open. He wasn't hiding. He wasn't flaunting it. He was just doing what God expected him to do. He rightfully sought to have his obedience to God to be accommodated by the government that he served.8:57 Humble obedience to God can never be wrong even if it violates the edicts of men. So what was the outcome? Well, it was more adversity.9:09 He did indeed face the alliance. Uncertainty would would appear to be death. I mean, that I mean, that you don't hear too many lion, you know, lion9:21 den stories where people come out without a scratch. But Daniel testified that that was the outcome. Verse 22, my God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouth and they have not harmed me9:32 because I was found blameless before him and also before you, o king, I have done no harm. But there's more. Not only did God save Daniel for his humble obedience, but Daniel's9:44 willingness to face the consequences of disobeying a government that he usurped the authority and place of God led to the civil government establishing the recognition of the 1 God. That's the9:56 way it works. Verse 25, Then Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree10:08 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 that end.10:20 Now did he really believe it? I don't know. But he issued proclamation stating as such, when government takes the place of God and attempts are made to exclude followers of Christ10:31 from society, as we see happening today, we should seek and expect accommodation of our faith. We have a court system. We can do that, but ultimately, we appeal to the court of heaven.10:44 Continuing to obey God even in the face of personal negative consequences. And then watch with great anticipation of how God will use our faithful obedience to him to10:56 bring the government to a place of giving rightful recognition to the Lord. You know, example example is last week I was in as you know, those who are following this journey, I was in Israel.11:08 In fact, last week, was on the Temple Mount with rabbi Yehuda Gleick, a former member of the Knesset. But he's a man who has been arrested dozens of times for a so called11:20 crime. What was his crime? His crime was praying aloud at Judaism's holiest site, the Temple Mount. So why would prayer provoke arrest? Well, we've11:31 talked and maybe touched on this before, but the Temple Mount lies within the territory the world still calls the West Bank. Alright? This was rooted in the 19 49 ceasefire that was never meant to be a permanent11:43 border. Alright? It was called the green line. It was just drawn on a map. It was a ceasefire proposal after the Israeli Arab war when Israel declared its independence. Yet that dotted line has become really kind of the11:56 the the the fixed point of diplomatic pressure that comes from the so called 2 state proposals. And even after Israel reunited12:07 Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria in the 19 67 war, inter mounting international demands forced Israel to relinquish daily control on the Temple Mount to12:18 Jordanians. So they actually administer that this Israel has a security, but it's administered by the Jordanians. And under that arrangement, Muslims may worship freely anytime.12:30 Jews, however, are restricted to silent time limited visits. No Bibles, no Torah scrolls, no audible prayer. And yet because of rabbi Glick's persistence, just12:42 as this past August, Jewish worshipers may now quietly kneel and offer whispered prayers on a narrow section of the eastern wall. So12:54 what does that have to do with Daniel? Well, everything. Private prayer offered in defiance of man's decrees and in devotion to God's truth in the pursuit of13:06 God and a relationship with him has carried weight far beyond what our eyes can see. Daniel's quiet petitions in Babylon shaped empires and Rabbi Glick's quiet prayers on Temple13:17 Mount have reshaped access for others. And I believe it's bending the curve of history. 1 person's obedience can open the path for many13:29 to find and walk in the truth. So we need to be praying. We must never allow the edicts of government to come between us and our relationship with God.13:41 Father, we thank you for your word and what a challenging word this is, but an encouraging word. But, I pray that we would be willing. Lord, I I know it's easy to read these stories because we know the13:53 outcome and and and we can get all excited and and grateful for the lion's den. But when Daniel was facing that lion's den, he did not see14:06 the other side. He had faith and trust in you and confidence just as the the 3 Hebrew young men who faced the fiery furnace. Either you would deliver them from it14:17 or deliver them in it. Either way, they were content with the outcome because they left it in your hands. Lord, may we walk in obedience with you or trusting you for the outcome14:29 of our obedience and faithfully following you. So we thank you for your word and continue to ask for the spirit to guide us and direct us and open our eyes and see how to apply this truth to our lives and the world14:41 around us. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Thanks for joining me this morning. Until next time, keep standing on the word.14:51 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan, available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day,15:03 you can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at f r c dot o r g slash bible.
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