Sermon Cloud

Daniel 6:1-28

Christ told His apostles that they would be persecuted and would suffer just as He suffered. Like the apostles, we who follow Christ are foreigners in this world and therefore can expect persecution and suffering as well. As aliens in this land, we should abstain from the evil influences of this evil world and conduct ourselves in such a way as to honor and glorify our Lord and King Jesus Christ. Therefore, we should maintain honorable behavior even when we are treated harshly or unjustly.

God is pleased when we are patient and long-suffering. We are called by our Lord to suffer, just as He suffered, and we are to put our trust in Him just as He entrusted Himself to the Father, Who judges righteously. Perhaps no other story exemplifies this better than the story of Daniel in the Lions Den. From this story, we see that Daniel did not compromise, as as a consequence, he was hated and reviled. In spite of this, Daniel thrived and triumphed because he had a relationship with God and trusted Him for endurance and deliverance during his trials.

The story of Daniel among the lions can be divided into eight parts:

1. The Promotion of Daniel (vv. 1-3)
2. The Plot Against Daniel (vv. 4-9)
3. The Prayer of Daniel (vv. 10-11)
4. The Persecution of Daniel (vv. 12-18)
5. The Preservation of Daniel (vv. 19-23)
6. The Punishment of Daniel's Enemies (v. 24)
7. The Praise of Daniel's God (vv. 25-27)
8. The Prosperity of Daniel (v. 28)

Daniel is a great model to pattern our prayer life after. By his witness, King Darius came to acknowledge that the God of the Jews was the one true God. Hear the message of Daniel above the roar of the lions around you. Just as God delivered a pagan king, He can deliver us from among the lions of this world!