Courageous

Has anyone here this morning ever ran a marathon? A marathon is always measured at 26.2 Miles. Have you ever heard of heartbreak hill? In the Boston Marathon, at mile 20, the runners come to what is called heartbreak Hill. Heartbreak Hill is the final incline of the Boston marathon. Even though the runners seem to cruise through the entire course up to this point, they know it's just a matter of time until they get to the hill. It is at heartbreak Hill that they will be tested.

But just like the runners in the Boston marathon, Christians should expect that there will be, at some point, opposition that will test us—our endurance, perseverance, and our principles. I don't know if you have ever thought of it this way, but it takes courage to be a Christian. Today we will be using Daniel 6 to talk about being courageous as we live the Christian life. Do you consider yourself courageous? Prayer

When Daniel 6 opens, King Belshazzar had been replaced by Darius the Mead. Up to this point in Daniel's captivity in Babylon, he was made an advisor to the king. He was the only one who was able to interpret King Nebuchadnezzar's dream. He was the only one who could not only interpret King Belshazzar's dream but also told him what the dream was. He was the only one that could interpret the handwriting on the wall. The other wise men and advisors to the king became jealous of Daniel. And our story begins.

Daniel 6:6-9 – “So the administrators and satraps went together to the king and said to him, “May King Darius live forever. 7 All the administrators of the kingdom—the prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors—have agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an edict that, for thirty days, anyone who petitions any god or man except you, the king, will be thrown into the lions’ den. 8 Therefore, Your Majesty, establish the edict and sign the document so that, as a law of the Medes and Persians, it is irrevocable and cannot be changed.” 9 So King Darius signed the written edict.”

In hopes of playing on the pride of King Darius, the jealous administrators proposed a new law that for 30 days everyone in the kingdom would worship the king rather than their own god. They knew how devoted Daniel was to pray to God each day. The proposal was that anyone who broke the decree would be thrown into a den of lions.

Some people just love to pick a fight. It seems that they enjoy the challenge of the argument and the adrenaline that comes from the confrontation. They seem to relish the moment when someone stands up against them, and because they do, they put themselves in situations designed to cause a fight.

We see it in our society all the time, but we also see it in Christians. It's a good thing for us to witness for Christ and biblical standards, but we should make sure that we're not doing so with a contentious spirit as if to stir someone up into a conflict. Daniel didn't do that.

Daniel knew about this law that the king had put into practice, but he also knew that he wouldn't have to go looking for trouble. Trouble would find him on its own, just as it had for the past 80 or so years. Daniel is now an old man, he had lived most of his life in a hostile culture, and he had experienced time and again that there was no need to look for opposition.

All he needed to do was live faithfully, knowing that there would come a moment when his quiet faithfulness would encounter some conflict with cultural norms.

As a Christian it should be our goal to pursue peace. We shouldn't go looking for an argument. Instead, we should simply live confidently and faithfully in what God has required of his people. As a Christian, we should also pursue holiness. Both pursuing peace and pursuing holiness should be our goal. We should pursue godliness and at the same time seek to live in peace - until we can't anymore.

The writer of Hebrews asks us:

Hebrews 12:14 – “Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness—without it no one will see the Lord.

Daniel 6:10 – “When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house. The windows in its upstairs room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.”

So Daniel heard of the edict of the king and did what he always did - he prayed anyway. Daniel was around 20 years old when he first was taken to Babylon. He had been in the administration of three different kings, and when Darius came to power, Daniel was probably around 80 years old. That means he had lived for six decades in Babylon. That was plenty of time to establish a daily rhythm.