Daniel a Faithful Servant of the Living God
DANIEL, A FAITHFUL SERVANT OF THE LIVING GOD
Text: Daniel 6:16-23
Intro: The Lord had said the Jews would go into captivity for 70 years. Daniel was carried away with the captives. Daniel and three of the Hebrews were exa~ted in this foreign kingdom. Daniel was put in position next to th' king. Even the other leaders tried to find I fault or blame with Danifl, but could not find any. They could testify that he was blame,ess. There is no reason given for their seeking to destroy Daniel. Daniel was a faithful servant of the living God and the king in whose land he lived. He had a excellent spirit within him. Let us bee some lessons that show us that Daniel kept on serving the king land God in spite of some things going on in his life. I
I. DANIEL WAS FAITHFUL IN SPITE OF ENVY.
A. The elevation of Daniel
1. Daniel was ~ Jew in captivity that served the Lord and man to the bfst of his ability. Instead of throwing up his hands and q~itting, Daniel did what he could.
2. Daniel was ~,faithful man who had an excellent spirit. He was lifter up and made a ruler next to the king because of this truth. Daniel 6:3
3. The greatest characteristic of a servant is to be faithful because ofl, ve. I Corinthians 4:2
B. The envy of the other leaders
1. Daniel was ~referred above the 120 something men in the king's kl~ngdom.There was something about Daniel that made h m different and desirable before others.
2. The leaders envied Daniel and as envy goes they sought fault or WT9ngdoing by Daniel.
3. Envy movef people to do a lot of ungodly things and hurts a lot~f innocent people.
C. The earnestne s of Daniel
1. Daniel con inued to be Daniel. They found no fault or error in hi . Daniel 6:4 13
2. These men of posed Daniel and sought his hurt, but Daniel kept nght on serving the Lord and the king.
3. Daniel was a/faithful man. Faithfulness is in the heart of people, not il situations or difficulties. You cannot
II. DANIE~I~ l~e;~i~~;~Z~~o~;ASA4267 (talk)s~Fc~ri~.You. ~
A. The fact of Daniel
1. Daniel's life fould stand examination. They examined his life for thlepurpose of finding some fault or dishonest dealings, but couldn't.
2. Those who h~ve an excellent spirit will be more notable during times of trouble and trials.
3. You will not find Daniel seeking to harm or hurt these 120 men who sought his hurt. Vengeance belongs to God, not mat.
B. The frustration of the leaders
1. When a lot of people are seeking to find wrong in yourlife, i f you d6n't watch out it can make you become like them and waht to do what they are doing.
2. They were obvious and because of it they planned to do something evil and ungodly to Daniel.
3. Each of us enjoy the blessings of the Lord in our lives. We should +t envy others because of who they are or what they h ve.
C. The faithfulnes~ of Daniel
1. Daniel doesn't grumble or whine to the king. He continues to /be who he is.
2. He still had rn excellent spirit and was a faithful man in his life.
3. If everyone else became evil that wouldn't justify our becoming evil. God will take care of those who seek to do evil to His people.
III. DANIEL WAS FAITHFUL IN SPITE OF ENEMIES.
A. The character of Daniel
1. We do what we do because of the character that we 14have. Charactf is manifested in conduct.
2. Faithful men are faithful because they are faithful men. Daniel had aniexcellent spirit and because of it he lived the way he li~~d.
3. The enemies that we may have should cause our lives to manifest our haracter.
B. The conflict of t e leaders
1. By examininJ the life of Daniel these men had no right to have a conflict with him.
2. His character/ should have moved them to a right kind of relationship with Daniel.
3. There was nd reason to be and act as an enemy to Daniel. Theyl were evil and because they were evil they planned to d~ evil to Daniel.
c. The c~nsecrati~n of Daniel
1. Faithfulness Just doesn't happen. There must be a faithful char~cter before one becomes faithful.
2. Daniel conti~ued to do what he had done even after a law was passed to hurt him.
3. These leadetE knew what kind of man Daniel was and depended ul10n it to entrap him.
IV. DANIEL WAS FA/ITHFUL IN SPITE OF ERROR.
A. The magnifying of Daniel
1. These men lould testify that there was no error or fault in the life o~ Daniel.
2. They wanted to find Daniel doing something wrong or saying some thing wrong.
3. The king was right in preferring Daniel above these evil and ungodly men. Daniel was faithful and had an excellent spirit.
B. The mistake of the other leaders
1. These leaders committed a grave en-or and mistake by trying to destroy Daniel.
2. Those who are envious and evil do not know that the Lord will dJal with them just like he did these rulers who opposed Daniel.
3. We do not h~e to worry about getting even. Vengeance belongs to the Lord and He will repay and reward people according to their works.
C. The ministering of Daniel
1. The preferen e of Daniel seems to indicate that he was a servant an minister to others in his life.
2. We are to continue to seek God's kingdom and righteousnes first regardless of how others live. Matthew 6:33
3. Study what PauI wrote in Ephesians 4: 19 about our speech. We re to edify and minister to others with our words.
V. DANIEL WAS FA1THFUL IN SPITE OF EGOTISM
A. The excellence hf Daniel
1. Excellent mfans valuable. Daniel was a valuable servant to thf king. 2. Those who want to be first will be abased and those who want to serve will be greater.
3. Jesus had a ervant heart. Philippians 2:5-8 He is our example of ijfe and living. I Peter 2:21
B. The evaluation of the other leaders
1. These leade IS evaluated Daniel and concluded that they were more ~ble to serve as a leader than he was.
2. Study what Paul wrote to the Romans in Romans 12:3 The first shdu be last and the last first.
3. We are not to try to please man, but we are to try to please God.lliphesians 6:5,6
C. The exalting o~ Daniel
1. The life of lj)aniel was one of service, so when the king needed a man to lead under him he chose Daniel.
2. The king e~alted Daniel because of the kind of man Daniel was.1
3. We are ad onished to lose our lives for the Lord's sake in Mark 8:3 -36
