Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: Daniel 6: 1-16                           

September 1, 2024

Message: “Courage in the Face of Danger”          

by Pastor George Gnade

Intro: 1. Most of you know the story of Daniel in the lion’s den. As the title of this message indicates, it is a story about courage in the face of danger. We are going to consider this story today.

2. Last week, we learned how King Belshazzar of Babylon was killed when the Medes and the Persians conquered the 

city of Babylon. Darius the Mede reigned in his stead.

a. Because Daniel predicted this would happen, Darius honored him and gave him one of the three highest positions in the land.

b. That is where our story begins. 

A. It began when Daniel almost immediately proved how skilled he was in what he did.

1. In Dan. 6:3, it says: “Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators …by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.”

2. Over and over again, the Bible shares how God honors those who honor him. Daniel was more than prepared to fill any position that was offered to him. God gave him the skills he needed. And Daniel gave God all the credit for it.

3. This made all the others jealous of him. After all, he was a Jewish man who was captured by King Nebuchadnezzar and rose to power under King Nebuchadnezzar. Now he was already rising above the others under King Darius.

a. Although Daniel was being chosen to lead them, he was not one of them.

b. It reminds me of the O.T. story of Joseph who was chosen to serve under Pharaoh even though he was not an Egyptian. 

3. In both stories, this happened because God gave them skills the others did not have.

B. Secondly, Daniel was found to be a man of integrity.

1. Because the others were jealous of him, they looked for some fault in him so they could bring charges against him.

That sounds very familiar, doesn’t it? 

a. In Dan. 6: 4, we are told they tried “to bring charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so.”

b. So they met secretively and discussed their dilemma. In Dan. 6:5, they came to the conclusion that “we will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

2. When the world is jealous of a Christian, the first thing they do is to look for faults from his past. But if we, like Paul, admit the faults of our past and give thanks for God’s forgiveness, then they take a closer look at our present walk with the Lord. That is why each of us should pray for the grace to live lives of integrity, especially since we have committed our lives to Jesus.

3. Don’t ever forget that the world is watching. 

C. Thirdly, consider Daniel’s habits!

1. The best way to live the Christian life is to develop godly habits. Things like going to church, reading your Bible regularly, and praying daily will help you stay on track.

a. As the other administrators looked closely at Daniel’s life, they discovered he had a habit of praying to his God three times a day toward Jerusalem (Vs. 10).

b. When Solomon’s temple was built, he prayed about possible problems in the future. In II Chron. 6: 20-21, he said: “May your eyes always be open toward this place. Hear the prayers… they pray toward this place… and when you hear, forgive.”

2. Daniel knew his Bible and, even though in captivity, he prayed toward Jerusalem where the temple had been and where the sacrifices to God had been made. 

a. He often prayed for the forgiveness of God’s people who had sinned and gotten themselves into this mess.

b. He also prayed for wisdom and guidance for himself. His faith in the Lord and his prayers to the Lord were his strength. Godly habits are very valuable.

3. Now that Christ has come and died on the cross, we no longer pray toward Jerusalem. Now we pray directly to the Lord, knowing by faith that He now lives in our hearts and reigns from heaven itself. But our faith and our prayers should be the source of our strength too.

D. Fourthly, consider Daniel’s courage.

1. It was very common in those days to insist that people pray to the king who represented their gods. In Dan. 3, Nebuchadnezzar did the same thing. So this became the plan of Daniel’s enemies. 

a. They would brag about the greatness of their king, and when pride filled his head, they would encourage him to require everyone to pray to him, and him alone, for 30 days (Vs. 6-9).

b. And the king fell into their trap and this put Daniel in a very dangerous situation.

2.  But Daniel knew where his strength came from. He also knew his habit of praying toward Jerusalem was well-known. He asked God for the courage to keep on keeping on.  

3. As our country continues down the wrong path, this could happen to us. I pray we will have the courage to stay faithful too.

E. Finally, let us consider Daniel’s deliverance.

1. If anyone did not obey the king, he would be cast into the lion’s den. The king did not want to do this. He liked and respected Daniel. But he was trapped by his own laws.

a. It reminds me of King Herod and John the Baptist. He was tricked into having John beheaded by his wife and grand-daughter. He too was afraid to change his promise.

b. Darius’ administrators would not let him or Daniel off the hook. So he was cast into the lion’s den.

2. But the lions must have been asleep when he was first thrown in because nothing happened immediately. And the king spent the whole night fasting in hopes that Daniel’s God would deliver him.

3. The next day he raced to see what had happened and to his delight Daniel had not been touched. And the king’s reaction was similar to King Nebuchadnezzar’s reaction when he saw one like unto the Son of God walking in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.

4. Just as they were released, so Darius had Daniel released. Since God had spoken, Darius had Daniel’s enemies thrown into the lion’s den instead.

In Conclusion: 1. Critics of the Bible refuse to believe in the miracles of the Bible. But the whole Bible is full of miracles.  Jesus Himself taught us that God’s Word is Truth. To reject what the Bible says is to reject what it has to say about Him too.

2. Stories like this one that we studied today were written to give us faith and to strengthen us in our faith. It re-minds me of the song: “It is no secret what God can do. What He’s done for others, He can do for you.”  Amen!