Dare To Be A Daniel: Then and Now

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Then, the temptation seemed the road to honour. To consent to eat of the king’s meat, and to drink of the king’s wine, seemed to be the way to get on in Babylon. They would say to Daniel, “Surely, if you begin by objecting to what the monarch sends you from his table, you will never get on at court. People with a conscience should not go to court.” I do not say that to-day; but I do think that they ought not to be members of Parliament. It must be wonderfully hard for a man with a conscience to go in and out there. But for Daniel to begin with a conscience like this, so particularly tender that it was offended by a glass of the king’s wine, or a morsel of the king’s meat, why, any good old fatherly man would have said, “My boy, you will never get on; your religion will always stand in your way. I am sure you will never come to be much.” That would have been a great mistake, however, for Daniel became a great ruler, and he prospered in the world through that very conscientiousness which it was thought would spoil all his prospects.

They were obedient to God regardless of the consequence. That’s what it means to dare to be a Daniel. And when they trusted God and obeyed Him no matter what, God was faithful to show up. That “Son of God” that joined them in the fiery furnace was a theophany, a Christophany, IT WAS JESUS! (Daniel 3:25). Jesus shows up when we obey in faith.So to-day, again, there is the temptation of love for intellectual novelty. Instead of the old, old gospel, and the old, old Book, for which God be thanked for ever, we are to place science, which is generally conjecture, in the place of revelation; and the thoughts of men are to cover and bury the sublime thoughts of God. I see ministers and churches deluded and led astray by these temptations. As for me, if no one else will say it, I purpose in my heart not to defile myself with this portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank. We need still to have old-fashioned believers who will sing the verse we sang just now,— In two future posts I will be turning to the Old Testament to see how we can apply the principles described above to texts that are not explicitly mentioned in the New Testament. Daniel 6:1-4 the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.

Vs. 4 – “Then the other administrators and princes began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling his affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize. He was faithful and honest and always responsible. So they concluded, ‘Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the requirements of his religion.’ And, besides this, we have, nowadays, the temptation to general laxity. People do, even Christian people do, what Christian people should not do. And they excuse themselves by quoting the example of other Christians, or by saying, “We are not so precise as our fathers were.” Has God changed? Is there not a text that says, “The Lord your God is a jealous God”? Does He permit His people to sin and take pleasure in it? And are we to forget that precept, “Be you holy, for I am holy”? Is there to be no separation from the world? And is it no longer true that, “If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him”? Is there no such text as this, “Come out from among them, and be you separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty”? I pray you, Brothers and Sisters, now, if never before, tie everything up as tightly as you can! The storm is now so heavy that you need to go with close-reefed sails. Oh, for a Daniel’s declaration that you will not defile yourself with the portion of the king’s meat, or with the wine which he drank! Many of you may be facing a situation that’s similar to Daniel's situation. Maybe you've just started college, or moved to a new town, or started a new job. You're in a different environment - maybe a different culture. Everything has changed. No one talks about God. Christians are definitely in the minority. Home is far away. The pressure to conform to the new group is so great! It would be so easy to compromise - "Just a little." John 18:37 (NKJV) – 37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” The reason we should dare to be a Daniel is because Daniel trusted that God was in control. This is the key point this morning.Daniel 2:47–48 (NKJV) – 47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” 48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. John 17:15–17 (NKJV) – 15 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

Now, the Babylonians did not kill their beasts in that way and the eating of flesh which had not been killed according to the Law would have defiled Daniel. You know how careful the Jews are to this day with regard to the butchering of the food they eat. More than that, usually such a king as Nebuchadnezzar, before he ate food, dedicated it to his god. Bel-Merodach was greatly venerated by Nebuchadnezzar as god, so that a libation of wine was poured out to Merodach, and a certain portion of food was put aside, so that, in fact, it was offered to idols–and Daniel felt that he would be defiled if he ate of meat which might be unclean, and which was certain to be offered to idols–it would be breaking the Law of God–so Daniel would not eat it. The story of Daniel takes place during those dark days of exile, and it comes as a welcome light in the darkness of defeat. It’s the thrilling account of how a few faithful individuals were blessed and honored by God in the midst of a situation that seemed hopeless. The life of Daniel contains some powerful lessons for us today - especially lessons for Christians who are faced with the temptation to compromise their faith. Then, the temptation seemed the road to honor. To consent to eat of the king’s meat and to drink of the king’s wine, seemed to be the way to get on in Babylon. They would say to Daniel, “Surely, if you begin by objecting to what the monarch sends you from his table, you will never get on at court. People with a conscience should not go to court.” I do not say that, today, but I do think that they ought not to be members of Parliament! It must be amazingly difficult for a man with a conscience to go in and out there! But for Daniel to begin with a conscience like this, so particularly tender that it was offended by a glass of the king’s wine, or a morsel of the king’s meat, why, any good old fatherly man would have said, “My boy, you will never get on–your religion will always stand in your way. I am sure you will never come to be much.” That would have been a great mistake, however, for Daniel became a great ruler and he prospered in the world through that very conscientiousness which it was thought would spoil all his prospects! And being a truth agent is a big part of what it means to be conformed t the likeness of Jesus (Romans 8:29), follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21) and walk as He walked (1 John 2:6). When Jesus was being grilled by Pontius Pilate and asked Who He was, His answer was something we sometimes forget. We readily understand that Jesus came to serve and seek and save the lost (Mark 10:45; Luke 19:10). But Jesus’ response to Pontius Pilate spoke of declaring God’s truth as being central to His purpose: Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"Fifth, to dare to be a Daniel means to praise God for answered prayer; to have a thankful heart – Daniel 2:19b – 23. Daniel did not get so caught in God’s answer or the victory that he forgot to praise and thank God. Daniel was not like nine lepers who were healed by Jesus and then forgot to give God thanks. Daniel was like the one healed leper who returned to thank Jesus for his healing (Luke 17:11-19). Daniel praised God for answer to his prayer: Daniel 6:10 when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened towards Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Daniel served consistently regardless of changes in power or who is in office. He was just as faithful and obedient under the Medo-Persian King Darius as he had been under the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 5). III. Now, in closing, I want to show you that THERE ARE CERTAIN POINTS WHICH WILL HAVE TO BE PROVED BY EXPERIENCE. I speak, now, to you Christian people who hold fast by the old doctrines of the Gospel, who mean to hold fast by the old ways and will not be led astray by modern temptations. Now what have you to prove?