Daniel 6:1-28
Introduction:
“Max Lucado tells of an extraordinary professional baseball pitcher who performed very few extraordinary feats.
· Though a veteran of 21 seasons, in only one did he win more than twenty games.
· He never pitched a no-hitter and only once in his career did he lead the league in any category. That was in 1980, when he led the National League with a 2.21 earned run average.
· Yet on June 21, 1986, pitcher Don Sutton rubbed shoulders with the true legends of baseball pitchers when he became only the 30th pitcher in baseball to win 300 games.
His own analysis of his success is worth noting. ‘I am a grinder and a mechanic. I never considered myself flamboyant or exceptional. But all my life I’ve found a way to get the job done.’ And get it done he did.
Through two decades, six presidential terms, four trades to other teams, he consistently did what pitchers are paid to do: win. With tunnel vision, he spent 21 seasons redefining greatness, yet most of you never heard of his name.
In September 1986, Inside Sports Magazine called him the ‘family sedan’ of baseball’s men on the mound. He certainly boasted none of the Ferrari style of the last thirty game winner, Denny McClain, who rose to stardom but faded quickly. He boasted none of the Mercedes sparkle of a Sandy Koufax, but after their types were parked in museums or junk piles, Don Sutton was still on the mound ‘getting the job done.’”
There are many Ferraris, Mercedes and Porsches in the Bible. People like Paul, David, Moses, and others, who speed across the pages of the Bible accomplishing great things for the glory of God. But Daniel is like the trusty “family sedans.”
· The first time we meet Daniel is when he is a young teen age boy who has been taken captive to Babylon. Even then, he is faithfully serving the Lord and taking his stand for that which is right.
· We meet him again a few years later in chapter 2, when as a young man he is called upon to interpret a dream to king Nebuchadnezzar. Again, we see Daniel simply serving the Lord and being faithful.
· He shows up again in chapter 4 as a middle aged man who again is called upon to interpret a dream for the troubled king. Once again, Daniel is found simply rolling along, being faithful.
· There he is again in chapter 5, standing for God and being faithful.
· In the text before us today, Daniel again rolls into view. Here, he is a man in his 80’s. He has been in Babylon for about 70 years. Yet, he has not veered from the course he started on as a young man. He is still faithfully serving the God Who saved him by his grace.
Daniel never made a big splash in Babylon. Though he was continually being promoted through the ranks of government, arriving at the position of Prime Minister, the Jews were still in captivity in Babylon. The new king, the king in this chapter Darius, who is probably also known as Cyrus, allows the Jews to return to Israel to rebuild their Temple, yet most of the exiles choose to stay in Babylon, having adapted to the customs and lifestyle of Babylon.
After all those years of being influenced by God’s people, Babylon is unchanged. The rulers have changed, but they are still idolatrous, cruel and wicked. There have been no great revivals in Babylon while Daniel was there. It seems that few are really impressed with Daniel and with his walk for the Lord.
It seems that all his faithfulness to God did was to draw the jealousy of his peers, the hatred of the ungodly, a plot against his life, and a death sentence in a lion’s den. But, through it all, Daniel rolled on. He remained faithful in spite of the changes going on around him.
Daniel was a faithful man, yet he found himself in a terrible cellar. In this passage, Daniel is cast into a lion’s den. He is sentenced to die for doing nothing more than being faithful to his God. While Daniel faced a terrible sentence, he held fast to what made him a great man. Daniel kept the faith!
Let’s look at this familiar passage again today and talk about The Man Who Kept The Faith. I want to show you that it is possible to be faithful in spite of what others around you are doing. Notice the details of Daniels life that teach us about this great man of faith.
To continue reading this sermon note, click here: The Man Who Kept The Faith
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