House of the Lord, Praise Him Forever, Only A God Like You, Christ Be Magnified, My Heart Is Yours + I Surrender All, Go and Follow

Have you ever been asked to compromise your moral convictions in your place of work, school or family life? How did you respond then?

³ Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom. ⁴ Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. ⁵ Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.”⁶ Then these commissioners and satraps came by agreement to the king and spoke to him as follows: “King Darius, live forever! ⁷ All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions’ den. ⁸ Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document so that it may not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.” ⁹ Therefore King Darius signed the document, that is, the injunction.¹⁰ Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.

Some choices we make change the trajectory of our lives. For example, who is the true boss of your life? We may have experienced working for a great boss, or not-so-great ones. But is Jesus, the King of the universe who came to earth as a Servant, truly the boss of your life? Today, we will learn from the Old Testament Bible character, Daniel about what it means to serve God as our true Boss in our daily life, in whatever we do. The message today is based on Daniel’s life choice: NO COMPROMISE, which is consistently living according to God’s standard in the power of the Holy Spirit.

As a teen, Daniel was one of the Jews exiled from the kingdom of Judah into Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar, whom Daniel served faithfully in his youth. But by the time this event took place in Daniel’s life, he was already in his 80’s. He had served under different kings by this chapter in his life, faithfully, consistently and without compromise:

Nebuchadnezzar (607 BC)

Evil – Merodach

Belshazzar

Darius

Cyrus (536 BC)

At the time story occurred, Daniel was serving under king Darius, and Daniel served God and these kings faithfully throughout the 70 years of the exile of the Jewish nation. How was this possible for Daniel to be able to do this? The Bible instructs us that in whatever we do, we must do so heartily for the Lord (Colossians 3:23-24). What was the impact of Daniel’s life choice of no compromise?

1. DISTINCTION: We excel to honor God (Daniel 6:1-4)

Daniel was one of the three commissioners overseeing 120 satraps (provincial governors) (Daniel 6:1-2). But because Daniel so distinguished himself in his service, king Darius had plans to appoint him over the entire kingdom (v.3). People notice when we serve with distinction. Daniel was distinguishing (shine, be preeminent, endure). He possessed and extraordinary spirit (excellent, surpassing). “Spirit” refers here to the Spirit of God at work in Daniel.

Not everyone was pleased with Daniel’s no compromise lifestyle (v.4). But no evidence of corruption and negligence was found in Daniel by his enemies (other commissioners and satraps). How do we apply Daniel’s distinction today? Some ways would be through your honesty, punctuality, stewardship, accountability, focus on pleasing God (not people), etc.

2. OPPOSITION: We Persevere to Obey God (Daniel 6:5-17)

Those who opposed Daniel’s choice not to compromise his faith went to the king with a proposal to entrap Daniel based on the practice of his faith (vv.6-9). But Daniel was undeterred by this threat and continued to worship, pray and give thanks to God (regardless of his circumstances) openly as he did before (v.10). Daniel was trusting the Lord that when he prayed according to His promise to Israel (when Solomon dedicated the Jerusalem temple), God would hear his prayer. How much of a role does prayer have in our daily life? Oswald Chambers reminds us that, “Prayer does not fit us for the greater works; prayer is the greater work”. You are highly encouraged to participate online in our “Pray O’clock” CCF noontime prayer every Friday along with your family and Dgroup! Prayer is a privilege, why should we not maximize it?

After the commissioners and satraps discovered Daniel praying in violation of the king’s decree, they reported it to the king (vv.11-13). But the king wanted to find a way to undo what he had decreed to save Daniel, the most distinguished among his servants (vv. 14-15). Furthermore, the king himself recognized that Daniel served God faithfully and that the Lord Himself will rescue Daniel (v.16-17)!  It doesn’t always mean that there will be an actual rescue or miracle for those who experience opposition to their faith in Jesus. But the greatest blessing in obeying the Lord is putting a smile on God’s face because we did what was right in His eyes. We also need to realize that there are Christians around the world who pay with their own lives, for living a life of no compromise. One poignant example of this were the 21 Egyptian believers, Coptic Christians who were executed by ISIS on February 15, 2015. They did not deny their faith even with the offer of money, or that their lives will be spared. In the end, they died with the name of Jesus on their lips.

We can only imagine that when these 21 faithful Christians entered into the Presence of Jesus, just like He did with Stephen, Jesus welcomed them with these words: “Well done, good and faithful servants, enter into the joy of your Master”.

3. VINDICATION: We Entrust Ourselves to God (Daniel 6:18-28)

After a sleepless night, king Darius hurried at dawn to see if God came through for Daniel in the lion’s den (vv. 18-19). The king recognized and acknowledged that Daniel was the faithful servant of the living God (v.20). Upon hearing from Daniel himself that God sent an angel to protect him, the king quickly ordered the prophet to be taken out of the den (v.21-23).  The king ordered those who plotted against Daniel to be thrown into the lion’s den, where they perished (vv. 24-25). Because of Daniel’s testimony, even a pagan king like Darius gave glory to God by recognizing who He truly is (the living God, His kingdom is eternal, etc.) and what He has done (delivers and rescues, etc.) (vv.26-27). You’ll never know what impact your choice will make! As for Daniel, God used him up to the end of his life (v.28). It was probably Daniel who let king Cyrus know that Isaiah prophesied about Cyrus and how God will use him to end the exile of the Jews that they may return to Israel!

So why should God be the boss of your life? Because the Boss became a Servant and gave Himself a ransom for us (Mark 10:45). Make your choice for Jesus; live a life without compromise!

Pray for your boss and co-workers, teachers and classmates and family members who may be putting pressure on you to compromise Biblical convictions.

Live out your faith without compromise and continue to show God’s love for them.

Talk about Jesus and how He is worthy to be their King. Share how they can know Him as Savior and Lord.

• Worship God for who He is, what He has done, and what He will do in our lives.

• Upright and moral governance of public servants; repentance and salvation for government leaders and citizens for a Christ-centered Philippines.

• For legislators to promote and support bills and laws aligned with God’s Word.

• War in Ukraine to end, loss of lives prevented.

• Continue to pray for the rest of Israeli hostages to be restored back to their families safely. Pray for Israel and the war with terrorists to end according to God’s purpose and for His glory.

• For the civil war in Syria to end peacefully, protection for Christians and other minorities; that there will be freedom from oppression for Syrians. Pray for the gospel to spread rapidly throughout the country.

• Pray for the Sudanese people and the persecuted Christians there; earnestly seek God’s intervention to stop the bloodshed. Pray for freedom from oppression, that God’s word and His people bring them comfort and hope.

• That CCF Members would honor and love God and make disciples.

• Elders, pastors, dleaders, and families (holy, humble, harmonious, happy, heart-working).

• Ministries and churches expand worldwide.

• Worship and Training Center

• Prayer Mountain

• Deeper intimate relationship with God.

• Righteous living.

• Salvation of family and friends.

3 Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom.