OPENING SCRIPTURE: It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps (government official), to be over the whole kingdom; ² and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss. ³ THEN THIS DANIEL DISTINGUISHED HIMSELF ABOVE THE GOVERNORS AND SATRAPS, BECAUSE AN EXCELLENT SPIRIT WAS IN HIM; (Daniel 61-3 NKJ)

• The King appointed Daniel as one of the 3 governors to govern over the 120 provinces and to protect the king’s interests.
• At 85, Daniel had less to prove and more to offer.

STATEMENT: As you grow in the Lord- You have less to prove and more to offer

“Then this Daniel DISTINGUISHED HIMSELF above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him”

QUESTION: How did Daniel distinguish himself above the others

• Now your answer might be: He prayed a lot! You are absolutely right!
• Daniel was a hard worker!
• It was not how much he prayed that distinguished him, though he was a praying man. He distinguished himself by being a hard worker.
• GOD VALUES HARD WORK

“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” (Colossians 3:23 NLT)

• Daniel distinguished himself by displaying a spirit of excellence in his hard work!
• HOW? He did not cut corners, he did not lie, he did not cheat, he did not try to impress anyone especially the new king with his prophetic abilities.
• Daniel distinguished himself because he had less to prove and more to offer!

⁴ Then the other administrators(governors) and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs.” (Daniel 6:4 NLT)

• They launch an FBI investigation on Daniel. Yes FBI J (Full Babylonian Investigation).
• And here are the results of that investigation: “They couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. HE WAS FAITHFUL, ALWAYS RESPONSIBLE, AND COMPLETELY TRUSTWORTHY.” (Daniel 6:5 NLT)
• They could not incriminate Daniel based on his work. They could not find any fault based on his work ethics. They could not find any faults with his character.

STATEMENT: Did you know that your very presence in the sphere of influence where God has placed you could be a threat to the enemy.

Jesus said: you are the salt of the earth. Jesus calls you salt.

¹³ “YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. (Matthew 5:13 NLT)

• Yes, we live in a flavorless society where what’s right has been diluted with what’s wrong. But you and I have been CALLED TO BE SALT TO RESTORE GOD’S FLAVOR
• Yes, we live in a decaying society where the very moral fabric is decaying. But you and I have been CALLED TO BE SALT TO PRESERVE OUR SOCIETY.

⁵ So they (the governors) concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.” (Daniel 6:4-5 NLT)

• When the enemy cannot attack anything you’re doing, he will always attack your faith

STATEMENT: Sometimes persecution comes not because you’re doing something wrong but because you are doing something right.

• Faithfulness to God can bring great testing, trials, and even persecution
• Since they could not attack his character, they created a crisis for Daniel based on deception.

⁶ So the administrators and high officers went to the king and said, “Long live King Darius! ⁷ We are all in agreement—we administrators, officials, high officers, advisers, and governors—that the king should make a law that will be strictly enforced. Give orders that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions. ⁸ And now, Your Majesty, issue and sign this law so it cannot be changed, an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked.” ⁹ So King Darius signed the law. (Daniel 6:6-9 NLT)

• They deceived the king in signing into law a decree that would ban prayer. Knowing that Daniel was a man of prayer. They created a crisis for Daniel.

STATEMENT: But us God’s people, we handle crisis in a much different way – We Pray!

¹⁰ But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, HE WENT HOME AND KNELT DOWN as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. HE PRAYED THREE TIMES A DAY, JUST AS HE HAD ALWAYS DONE, GIVING THANKS TO HIS GOD. (Daniel 6:10 NLT)

• Daniel did not run to the King’s palace to beg for his life. Daniel went home to pray.
• He did not need to prove his innocence to the King, he needed to offer himself as a living sacrifice to God. He prayed
• Prayer for Daniel was not a religious exercise, it was a lifestyle.
• He prayed knowing that he will be arrested for his faith.
• The king was deeply troubled and saddened by what was happening to Daniel and searched for some loophole to free Daniel, but he was bound by the written law.

QUESTION: Was Daniel guilty of breaking the law as it was written? Yes

Did you know that according to the law you and I are also guilty? But God’s grace came down in the person of Jesus, the son of God. Not to create a loophole in the law, but to complete the law.

Unless we understand that Jesus so love me, (on a personal level), that he died for me, (on a personal level), we will never understand fully understand John 3:16 – “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

¹⁶ So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.” (Daniel 6:16 NLT)

All night, the King was deeply troubled and in the morning he hurried to the lion’s den

²⁰ When he got there, he called out in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?” (Daniel 6:20 NLT)

In verse 21, Daniel answered: “Long live the king! ²² My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I HAVE BEEN FOUND INNOCENT IN HIS SIGHT. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.”

• Because of his faithfulness to God, Daniel had nothing to prove and more to offer
• He offered to the King not the proof of his innocence but the evidence of how great his God is. There was not a single scratch on him.
• When you belong to God, He will defend you

“THE LORD IS YOUR MIGHTY DEFENDER, perfect and just in all his ways; Your God is faithful and true; he does what is right and fair. (Deuteronomy 32:4 GNT)

• The governors and their minions who falsely accused Daniel were thrown into the lions’ den
• Chapter 6 ends with this in verse 28: “So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.”

CLOSING STATEMENT: When you are under attack, you don’t have to prove your innocence. Simply offer how amazing your God is!