UNDER ATTACK
Daniel 6
Bobby McGraw // @bobbymcgraw // bobby@sugarhillchurch.com
Daniel was a man of compelling character; when people came around him, they were drawn to it. Daniel was such a man of God that he rooted himself in the things of God to the point that he was unwilling to compromise and people respected it and they were drawn by it.
Daniel 1:8 says, “But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.”
There will be times when your character is tested – when you come under attack. Character is not any good unless its applied and one of times where it is applied and tested the most is when you come under attack.
Reminder: Your circumstances don’t change God’s closeness.
When your character comes under attack there are some things that you must know:
1. The attack will be caused by someone you know.
“It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one…” Daniel 6:1, 2
Daniel is one of three in charge of the 120 satraps (leader types). Daniel is working with these guys and they end up attacking him.
Anytime attack comes on your character it will not come from some stranger, it will come from somebody that you know. The people who attack Daniel are the guys that he is already working and serving with. The same will be true of you.
// It matters how you live.
// Do not give your attackers any ammunition.
Carry yourself in the character of God; see yourself as the light of God. Make your decisions based on who you are in Christ so that when your attackers rise up they will have to invent something to come after you with.
2. It comes before a time of success.
“Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.” Daniel 6:3
Daniel was working with these people and he carried himself in such a way that he was noticed. The king was about to promote Daniel over the entire kingdom!
Attacks always comes right before a time of great promotion. The times we are most tempted to compromise, and the times it would be most easy for us to go another direction is usually when we are right on the front end of a God-promotion.
3. It is constructed with a subtle shift in mind.
“Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no group for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was in him. Then these men said, ‘We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.’” Daniel 6:4-5
They can’t attack Daniel politically because he is a master at it. They can’t attack him in his position because he has done it so well that the king is about to promote him over the entire kingdom. So they come after him spiritually; they come at him in his private life. It is subtle.
They knew that Daniel prayed three times a day and would go to his window and open the windows and pray openly. These guys pass a law to not stop him from praying but to stop him from doing it publicly. They are saying that if anybody sees someone praying to anybody but the king, then they are going to the lions’ den.
4. It must be counteracted strategically.
“When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.” Daniel 6:10
Instead of compromising, Daniel continued as he had been doing! Daniel did not change his decisions for the sake of convenience. The way you meet your attackers is you remain rooted in the character of God.
How could he do that with such confidence?
When you know how the story ends it affects the way you live.
Here’s the rest of your story:
1 Peter 5:8&9
Revelation 5:1-5
Revelation 21:1-4