Sermon Tone Analysis

*The Secret of Success*

*Daniel 6               July 25, 1999*

* *

*Introduction:*

 

Chapter 6 parallels chapter 3 (reiterate) in some interesting ways.

In ch. 3 we see the three friends without Daniel, here we see him without his friends.

There we see a refusal to participate in idolatrous religious practices, here we see a refusal to refrain from the proper worship of God.

To fail in either of these refusals would be sin.

In both we see the jealous motive of enemies to betray those who serve God and not the world.

In both, the king’s pride and vanity are patronized for selfish ends in a conflict between the two empires, that of God and that of the world political system.

There we see not even a singed hair or the smell of smoke on Daniel’s three friends, here we see not even a scratch on Daniel.

In both we see a decree that God delivers his servants.

Devotion to God comes full circle (explain).

Daniel has come a long way since he refused the food of King Nebuchadnezzar’s court as a young exile from Judah.

There we saw his success without compromise.

The food was the issue on which he refused to yield in order that God might receive whatever credit was to be given for whatever success he would provide.

And Daniel distinguished himself as a wise man because he chose to follow God rather than the culture of the king’s court.

This chapter opens with Daniel having made the transition between the Babylonian Empire and the takeover by the Medes and the Persians.

Belshazzar’s reward of third ruler in the kingdom for reading the handwriting on the wall fit nicely into this transition.

That very night Daniel’s interpretation came true and Belshazzar was killed by the succeeding World Empire.

The new king, Darius, was very discerning of human loyalty and capability and kept Daniel in position.

Now, nearing 90 years old, Daniel has another opportunity for success.

This time will reveal once and for all the secret of his success as we look at a day in his life as an administrator in Darius’s government.

*I.

Daniel’s devotion prompts deception (6:1-9)*

 

Notice the number of times Daniel has had to face down fear, danger, and persecution for his faith and service.

Even now at almost 90 you would think God would ease up on him a bit.

But that isn’t the way it works.

As long as God gives us life, he intends to be glorified by it.

Age is no barrier to serving God, nor is it any protection against temptation and testing.

But Daniel was as faithful now as he was when he started out.

He had flown his flag of faith early on and he has never let the sun go down on it.

Daniel was devoted to his God and to his government, and you know what always came first.

Although Daniel faced conflicts with this in his years as a civil servant, he knew what took priority.

The time may be coming soon when many of us may have to choose in this way – to follow God’s law or man’s law.

Darius had reorganized and decentralized his government under 120 governors, or satraps as they are called here.

To make sure they would not steal from the king and cover their thefts with false accounts, as perhaps many were already doing, they were to be held accountable to three administrators, of which Daniel (the mole – operation ‘silver shovel’) was one.

In fact, Daniel was the best and the king planned to put him above them all because of his excellence.

Daniel was trustworthy.

Daniel’s promotion shows that you don’t have to compromise to succeed.

Now, I’m sure that Daniel got tempted just like every other man in power.

But he kept himself pure by keeping himself close to purity.

He prayed three times a day as a normal practice just as it says in *6:10*.

*Ps.

55:17*, which we read this morning, says, “Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress (pray), and he hears my voice.”

Daniel followed God’s law to seek him consistently.

And it was a good thing he started this particular day out with the Lord.

Prayer for Daniel was not incidental but essential, and he was highly esteemed by God *(9:23)*.

All the great men of God started their day with prayer *(i.e.

Abraham, Gen. 19:27; David, Ps. 5:3; Jesus, Mk. 1:35)*.

When we look good and we talk wise we make enemies because of man’s sinful jealous pride.

And when a Jew does it he is doubly cursed because Satan and the rest of the world especially hate God’s chosen people.

When one man does well by not stooping to the tactics of dishonesty he exposes all the rest.

Jesus spoke of this as light *(Jn.

3:19-21)* and that he is that light.

When we are light we are like Jesus.

When we are light we reveal that what we do, we do through God.

Daniel has 2 other administrators and 120 satraps on his tail – not too good of odds unless God is on your side.

They look high and low to get something on Daniel, but he is squeaky clean.

Looking for dirt is the first rule of politics.

Not only was Daniel honest but he was diligent.

Can it be said of you or I that nothing can be found against us except righteousness?

They will have to manufacture a flaw in Daniel’s personality.

They know he would betray the king before he would betray his God.

What a reputation!

Look at the setup here.

The rest of Darius’s government now put into effect a plan to take advantage of the king’s weakness and use it against Daniel.

They have an ulterior motive.

It is one form of pride using another.

Anyone in leadership must be as wise as a fox and as innocent as a dove.

Whatever this law they want passed is to fix, it is a temporary fix for 30 days.

The king should have seen the setup.

Perhaps the king fell for this so readily because he saw it as a chance to assure his continued central place in the government while at the same time delegating authority to others in his decentralization plan.

At any rate, the law is a test of extreme loyalty to the king for these 30 days.

But it will be revealed just who is being disloyal, and it isn’t Daniel.

It is the satraps who lie by saying that they all agreed to propose this to the king.

Daniel was not consulted.

They set up the king through his own vanity and pride and work against his intentions to put Daniel in charge.

The king was discerning regarding Daniel’s intended promotion, but not about his own vanity and pride.

We must all be so careful of our blind spots, and we all have them.

This law that has as its apparent purpose to set the king up as an ultimate authority actually imprisons him to his own authority, and it brings the king into conflict with God and his law.

That law is, for Daniel to be allowed to pray to the ultimate authority of the universe and not to a man.

Every time we rely upon our own authority instead of God’s we are trapped.

Darius was not above his law, is God above his?

No.

The thing we should note is that God is perfect and so is his law *(Ps.

19:7-11)*.

Darius’s law was the expression of his flawed character and he falls for the deception of the satraps.

God’s character and law are not flawed.

This issue of a law being unable to change is like what Jesus said about swearing oaths *(Mt.

5:34-36; James 5:12)*.

It can get us into trouble because we don’t have the right to God’s sovereignty.

Also, we can make laws that are our own undoing – like we are now doing all the time in our country.

*II.

Daniel’s decision prompts detection, disappointment, and detention (6:10-18)*

 

What is the first thing you do when you are in trouble?

Do you cry, or worry, or get depressed, or talk to someone you know?

Daniel prayed to the God he knew intimately.

He doesn’t question, doubt or worry, he acts.

But he acts on his knees and gives thanks just as before.

He returned to the same righteousness he was being accused of.

If we are being accused of trusting God, would we trust God all the more?