Crossing the Line to Authentic Christian Living
Daniel Leads the Way
Daniel 6:1-4
Verse 4: “Daniel was faithful and honest and always responsible.” NLT
Daniel lived a life of integrity as a teenager when he entered Babylon as recorded in chapter one of Daniel. He lived through the leadership of three kings. Chapter 6, Daniel is now in his 80’s and still respected as a CEO type of leader. King Darius divided his kingdom into 120 counties each with a mayor or satrap. Daniel and two other administrators served over three regional areas. Daniel was the superior administrator and King Darius planned to give him the oversight of the entire area.
At the age of 80 Daniel was not ready to retire, He was on the go for God. Daniel was not like some people over 65 whose attitude is reflected in several hymns:
“Precious Lord, take my hand (and help me get up).”
“It is well with my soul (but my back hurts).”
“Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah (I’ve forgotten where
I parked?”
One day an older couple was talking to each other. The wife said to the husband, “you used to hold my hand.” He reached over and took her hand. Then she said, “You used to kiss me all the time.” Instantly he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Then she said, ‘You used to nibble on the back of my neck.” Suddenly he got up and started walking away. “Where are you going? She asked. He said, “To get my teeth.”
Daniel is an example of someone who lived their entire life as an authentic Christian. He had crossed the line to authentic living. He was a 24/7 Christian.
Because Daniel was a person of integrity he possessed superior leadership qualities to the other two administrators. When the two administrators learned that King Darius wanted to make Daniel the sole leader of the country they searched Daniel’s background to find dirt on his past.. They couldn’t find anything to find fault so they decided to attack his Godly faith. Daniel 6:4 “He was faithful and honest and always responsible.”
What a difference that quality would make in the workplace and corporate world today.
# An article in the USA Today November 5, 2004 newspaper had this headline: “Business scandals prompt look into personal lives.” A study of the personal lives of CEOs and top executives under indictment for fraud and embezzlement revealed that the majority of the men under investigation were living double lives. Many of the top executives accused of betraying the trust of shareholders also betrayed the trust of their wives.
Former Tyco CEO Denis Kozlowski has at least two affairs with subordinates before he divorced his first wife and married his mistress, according to trial testimony. WoldCom’s Bernike Ebbers openly courted a company sales executive while married to his first wife. Enron’s Jeff Skilling, who said he left the company in 2001 to tend to family matters,” had divorced his wife four years earlier and taken up with a co-workers nicknamed “Va Voom” around the office.
Compromise in one area of a person’s life tended to lead to compromise in other areas. When a person lives a life of integrity and honesty in his/her personal and family life that quality of life tends to carry over into public life.
There are those who are satisfied to live on or close to the line of integrity. They live a shallow life.
I. Shallow Focused Life
Those who live this side of the line live a shallow life-style. They live to please people. They live for themselves. They live an up and down life.
I would characterize my life as a new Christian as riding a roller coaster of spirituality. Depending on the crowd I was with I was either hot or cold. I didn’t go wild, but I didn’t go all out for God either. I would drink Pepsi when others were drinking beers. But I didn’t take a positive stand for the Lord either.
Shallow Christians are believers that live close to the line or just over the edge as a 51% commitment. As long as being a Christian doesn’t cost anything, or cause harm the shallow person is happy.
Shallow Christians are not dangerous. If Daniel had been a shallow Christian he would have stayed out of the lions den.
The early church was made up of dangerous Christians. Prior to Pentecost Jesus was the primary dangerous leader. On different occasions the religious crowd wanted to stone Jesus or push his off a cliff. When Jesus cast out demons out of a wild man in Gardarenes, Jesus was asked to leave their area because the demons entered 2,000 pigs ran down the hillside into the sea and drowned.
On another occasion Jesus entered the temple court yard area and drove out merchants that were using the temple area to sell animal sacrifices. Jesus cast them out of the temple area and declared that His House is a House of Prayer and not for buying and selling merchandise.
Where ever Jesus traveled He was often under attack.
Before Pentecost the Disciples were arguing and in conflict among themselves. When Jesus was arrested they all abandoned him and fled.
At the end of Christ’s public ministry Jesus gave the disciples the promise of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem until they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would cleanse them from sin and empower them to be bold witnesses. The promises in Luke 24 and Acts 1:4-8 were fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2. The work of the Holy Spirit turned anemic weak believers into red blooded corpuscle Disciples. They became dangerous and were accused of turning that world upside down.
Filled with the Holy Spirit Peter stood and proclaimed the good news of Jesus and the resurrection. 3,000 came to faith in that one day.
Acts 3 Peter and John were entering the temple and in the name of Jesus a lame man was healed. Because of the healing and their preaching they were taken before the Jerusalem Council and questioned. The Council told them to stop preaching about the name of Jesus and His resurrection. (Acts 4:20) The disciples responded: “We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we have seen and heard.”
After the conversion of Saul who had a zeal to persecute the church. The risen Lord gave Saul a new mission to tell the good news to Gentiles. The ministry of Saul/Paul seemed to create a riot in every city he visited. He was a dangerous Christian.
Early Christians were dangerous to the status quo. To them the moral law of God was above the secular laws of the land.
How dangerous are you in your world of influence? Do you stand strong on Biblical convictions or do you quickly compromise and blend in with godless and non-Biblical ways of this world?
2 Corinthians 6:17-18 is a call to live above the attitudes and actions of this world.
Romans 12:1-2 is another call to live in the world but not compromise to the immoral attitudes and actions of this world. God’s word calls us to not compromise with this world’s attitudes.
Shallow individuals are driven by petty opinions and self-centered behaviors. Henri Nouwen has this to say about shallow living: “A little criticism makes me angry, and a little rejection makes me depressed. A little praise raises my spirits, and a little success excites me. It takes very little to raise me up or thrust me down. Often I am like a small boat on the ocean, completely at the mercy of it waves. All the time and energy I spend in keeping some kind of balance and preventing myself from being tipped over and drowning show my life is mostly a struggle for survival; not a holy struggle, but an anxious struggle resulting form the mistaken idea that is is the world that defines me.”
The two administrators that set out to take Daniel out of leadership lived on the shallow end of life. Shallow people are easily overtaken by jealousy. Shallow people find delight in bringing misery to people of substance.
The other two administrators working with Daniel were shallow leaders. They could find no flaws in his personal past history.
Look at Daniel 6:7 “We administrators, prefects, princes, adviser, and other officers have unanimously agreed that Your Majesty should make a law that will be strictly enforced.” Give orders that for the next thirty days anyone who prays to anyone divine or human – except to Your Majesty – will be thrown to the lions.” They did not confer with Daniel, yet they said we administrators. There were only three administrators. Only two went to present their plan to the king.
Daniel would be called to test his faith. Would he compromise or would he continue to cross the line and live with authentic Christian commitment and integrity.
All of us face similar choices on a daily basis. We either compromise or cross over the line to live an honest life as a Christ follower.
In 1989 the “Field of Dreams” movie was shown in theatres across the country. Ray Kinsella tries to make ends meet as a farmer in Iowa. He begins hearing voices in his cornfields. The voices tell him to build a baseball diamond near his cornfields. One by one baseball stars from the past make their way to the field to relive their days as players. Ray Kinsella lives out his dream by watching them play.
One of the players in the story, Moonlight Graham, only played a portion of an inning in the Major Leagues before he left to become a doctor. As Moonlight Graham stands to bat Ray is arguing with his brother-in-law. The brother-in-law is trying to convince Ray to sell his farm because Ray is broke. Graham has a difficult decision to make.
#Video Clip – Field of Dreams
Graham crossed the line and could not go back. We all have a similar choice. We can continue to live a life of mediocrity or cross the line to authentic living.
II. Authentic Focused Life
Daniel leads the way to authentic focused living. God’s Word calls each of us to cross the line from compromise and shallow living to authentic Christian discipleship.
After King Daius made the decree that only the King was to be worshiped. All who worship other God would be thrown into the lions den.
Daniel 6:10, Daniel shows his true colors: “But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual I his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to God.” Daniel demonstrated his uncompromising convictions. When the laws of the land went against his Biblical and moral law he chose to obey the higher law, God’s law.
Authentic Christians live according to uncompromising convictions based on God’s Word.
Authentic Christians live according to the law of love. We are called to love as Jesus loved. Our goal is to build up one another in love. When love is practiced in the church minor irritations are overlooked. We are patient with each others weaknesses. Critical remarks and negative attitudes are out of order in a loving and caring fellowship.
The early Christians had an impact upon both the Gentile and Jewish unbelieving world. Unbelievers could reject the preaching of the apostles simply as another teaching among many; but they found it much more difficult to reject the fellowship of love evident in the relationships among believers in the early church. What their message could not do their demonstration of love could do.
You may not be able to convince your friend, who is skeptical about the Bible and God, but your passion tempered with kindness and love, are much harder to reject. You are the only Bible some people may ever read.
Authentic Christians demonstrate unconditional love. Daniel was willing to put his life on the line and obey the Lord and fact death rather than compromise and live.
Worldly love promotes sensual, selfish and promiscuous actions. Worldly love pursues success at any price. Worldly love seeks popularity and is willing to throw moral values to the wind. Worldly love desires power.
Authentic Christians live with uncompromising convictions. Authentic Christians live according to the law of love. Authentic Christians live in obedience to God’s Word.
You can know the Bible and have many Bible verses memorized. The test is applying the scripture to your life and putting your faith into practice. Jesus said: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it has its foundation on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25)
Are we putting our faith into practice at home and at work? A bonds salesman was asked to tell only part of the truth in selling bonds to his customers. The salesman was a Christian and spent three hours talking to his boss and telling him that to be dishonest would eventually undermine the company’s credibility and be detrimental to customer relations. That next week the boss said he agreed with the salesman and directed his sales force to be honest in their dealings.
You cross the line into a life of integrity when you don’t let ridicule or rejection intimidate you into compromising your faith.
# A man named George Bolt was managing a small downtown hotel in Chicago. On a rainy evening an elderly couple walked in and asked for a room. "I’m sorry," said George. "We’re filled. There are three conventions meeting near us." The couple turned to leave. Then George said, "Wait a minute. I can’t let you go back out into this rain. There is a room in our basement that is assigned to me, but I’m going to be busy tonight and won’t need it. It’s small but it’s clean." The couple accepted it with gratitude. The next morning George would not accept any money from the couple. The older man said to George, "You’re just the kind of man who ought to be managing the best hotel in America." George smiled and thanked the man but thought nothing more about it. Two years later, a letter arrived from that man, inviting George to come to New York City. A train ticket was enclosed. George’s host took him to downtown Manhattan, to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 54th Street, and showed him his new hotel. Then William Waldorf Astor said to George, "I want you to manage that hotel for me." That’s how the Waldorf Astoria Hotel began.
True discipleship means total obedience to God’s Word. Authentic Christian living means you say in your heart, “Wherever God leads I will follow.” It is praying, “Not my will but Your Will be done.”
Too often we want an easy road to walk on. We want a cost free discipleship plan – an installment plan where we can put a little as possible down and make small monthly payments. We want a Christian lifestyle that won’t interfere with our personal goals in life. We want the joys of heaven without paying the price.
Authentic Christians are obedient to God’s word. Authentic Christians also practice habits of the heart.
The secret of Daniels life may well have been his prayer life. He practiced habits of the heart. (Daniel 6:10) When the law forbidding any religious worship of God went into effect, Daniel did not change his daily habits of prayer. Daniel was not ashamed to practice his prayer routine regardless of who might see him. Three times a day Daniel knelt down on his knees and prayed.
It takes 21 days to develop a holy habit. Why not dust off your spiritual life journal and commit to 21 days of using the journal for personal Bible study and prayer.
Here is a tough one – Authentic Christians trust God even when the consequences mean being thrown into the lions den.
When you have complete trust in God you know that God is able to shut even the mouths of starving hungry lions. When you are attack you trust God. Your lions may be financial. Your company is closing or being bought out and new management doesn’t need you anymore. It may be your family; a spouse says “I don’t love you anymore.” A family member dies. A doctor says, “I don’t like the results of your tests, your biopsy doesn’t look good.”
Like Daniel we can cross the line to authentic Christian living. Daniel and his friends refused to compromise and eat the royal food of the king that had first been dedicated to pagan idols. Toward the end of his life Daniel did not compromise the easy way and stay out of the lions den.
Let’s determine to life an Authentic Christ honoring life. A life committed to unconditional love. A live committed to uncompromising convictions and obedient to God’s Word. If you haven’t started working on habits of the heart why not start this week.
