Inspiring Faith: Daniel

Daniel 1:6-20

Do we realize Jesus mentioned Daniel in his teaching about the coming of the Son of Man? In Matthew 24:15, Jesus calls Daniel a prophet. What a faithful life Daniel lived! It is this same Daniel who spent a night in the lions’ den. It is this same Daniel who spoke prophecy to kings. It is this same Daniel, and his three friends, who had wisdom beyond the magicians and enchanters of Nebuchadnezzar’s whole kingdom.

Of all of the characters in the Bible, Daniel inspires my faith. When I reflect on my childhood, it is the stories about Daniel that got my attention. It took a Rich Mullins’ song, “Boy Like Me/Man Like You,” to remember that inspiration. In the chorus of the song where Rich compares his life with Jesus’ life, we hear these words:

“And did they tell you stories ’bout the saints of old
Stories about their faith
They say stories like that make a boy grow bold
Stories like that make a man walk straight”

How much bolder can you get than to refuse to eat the royal rations? How much bolder can you get than to refuse to worship the king? How much bolder can you get than to speak about the resurrection and the coming of the Son of Man? Yet, this is how bold Daniel was. Being inspired by Daniel in our faith may make us walk straight.

A. Daniel was resolved to be faithful in a small thing (1:6-20)
+++1. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah were captives from Judah
+++2. They were to be fed royal rations and taught for 3 years
+++3. The palace master changed their names!
++===+a. Daniel – Belteshazzar
+===++b. Hananiah – Shadrach
++===+c. Mishael – Meshach
++===+d. Azariah – Abednego
+++4. Yet, they refused to eat the royal rations
+++5. The palace master feared for his life because of this choice
+++6. The Lord God made sure Daniel had favor & compassion
+++7. After 10 days, the four had better appearances than the rest
+++8. The palace master continued to show them favor
+++9. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, & Azariah were found to be wiser than the magicians and enchanters.
+++10. It does work out well if we resolve to be faithful in the small things. Even in a situation as so dire as being captive in a foreign land, it is possible to remain true to God. Who knows how God could make sure we have favor and compassion if we resolved to be faithful in a small thing. For when we are faithful in a small thing, it is possible for us to be faithful in a bigger thing.

B. Daniel was resolved to be faithful in a bigger thing (6:10-28)
+++1. During Darius’ reign, the other 2 presidents and satraps didn’t like Daniel worshiping God
+++2. The other 2 presidents and the satraps encouraged Darius to make a decree that anyone worshiping anything other than Darius would be thrown into the lions’ den
+++3. After the decree was made, Daniel continued to worship God
+++4. The other 2 presidents and the satraps caught Daniel in this work
+++5. Darius reluctantly threw Daniel into the lions’ den
+++6. The next morning when Darius looked in the lions’ den, Daniel was alive!
+++7. Darius had those who accused Daniel thrown into the lions’ den – they and their families were killed by the lions before they hit the floor!
+++8. Darius made a decree that all should worship the God of Daniel
+++9. Yes, when there is opposition to our being faithful to God, we can still be faith to God. Our resolve to worship God may get us into trouble. But the God we worship can even deliver us from a lions’ den! For when we are faithful in a bigger thing, then it is possible for us to be faithful in the biggest thing yet.

C. Daniel was resolved to be faithful in the biggest thing yet (12:1-13)
+++1. Daniel spoke a prophecy about Michael delivering God’s people
+++2. There will be a resurrection!
+++3. It will take some time before the resurrection occurs
+++4. Daniel and those who have faith will be purified, cleansed, and refined for the resurrection to everlasting life
+++5. Being resolved to be faithful to God, Daniel will receive his reward at the end of days
+++6. Yes, when we don’t know how long our deliverance, we can remain faithful to God. There is going to be a resurrection. Persevering in our lives until the resurrection will bring blessings to us. Daniel was resolved to be faithful to God, even while not knowing how long the tribulation would continue.

Are we being faithful in the small things? Are we being faithful in the bigger things? Are we being faithful to the biggest thing yet? No matter what is going on in our life, we can be faithful to God. Daniel can inspire us in our faithfulness.

We may grow bold in our faith as we see God’s faithfulness to us. We may walk straight in our faith as we see God’s faithfulness to us. Will God see us being faithful to Jesus, the Son of Man, in our lives? At the end of days, when we have been faithful, we can receive the reward that Daniel was promised.