Unassailable Series

Text: Daniel 6:1-28, Title: Unassailable, Date/Place: NRBC, 8/31/09, AM

A. Opening illustration: define Unassailable: immune to attack; incapable of being tampered with; "an impregnable fortress," without flaws or loopholes, secure against attack; impregnable; undeniable, incontestable or incontrovertible. 74% say they are concerned about the moral condition of the nation. That point of view is only slightly more pronounced among Christians. When asked the basis of their moral choices, 44% cited their desire to do whatever will bring them the most pleasing or satisfying results. 17% base moral decisions on what they believe will make other people happy or minimize interpersonal conflict. 17% credit the values they were taught by their family as the dominant influence on their moral considerations. Only 24% of born again adults rely upon the Bible or church teachings as their primary source of moral guidance. Get kids to be the lions roar!

B. Background to passage: Remember that last time we looked at Daniel, Belshazzer, the last king of the Babylonians, had seen the writing on the wall, and been told that he had been weighed in the balance, and found wanting, and thus was slain that night according to the word of the Lord. Now Darius the ruler under Cyrus, appointed Daniel among the wise men of his court. And again, the favor that Daniel had with God caused them to be jealous and seek to harm this nearly 80 year old man of God. So a plot was hatched, carried out, but the Almighty God and Daniel his servant were unassailable.

C. Main thought: Daniel is one of the few bible characters that we have a considerable amount of material on who is not found wanting in some area. And in the twilight of his life, he finishes well!

A. Unassailable Character (v. 3-5)

1. The bible speaks here of Daniel having an excellent spirit. The word means exceedingly, surpassingly superior. It means outstandingly special, preeminent or exceptional, and having much wisdom. So excellent even that the king was planning to set him over all the wise men there. Their jealousy raged, and a plan was sought to catch him in a scandal. But the bible says that he was “faithful,” or trustworthy. His character was impeccable. The bible says that they could not find fault in him. James Boice, the late Presbyterian commentator, said that he wished this could be said of more believers. In fact they decided that the only way to snag him was to use his relationship with God against him. Of course they didn’t know that it was impossible.

2. 1 Tim 3:1-7, 6:1, Titus 2:5,

3. Illustration: There are approximately 1,090,000 divorces per year in the U.S.7 Since the Christian divorce rate is essentially the same as the nation’s overall divorce rate, and since 41% of population is born again, number of Christian divorces equals 1,090,000 x .41 / 365 = 1,224 per day. 1,500 pastors leave their assignments every month in the United States because of conflict, burnout, or moral failure, Chuck Swindoll wrote, “Character is the moral, ethical, and spiritual undergirding that rests on truth, that reinforces a life in stressful times, and resists all temptations to compromise.” That is the kind of character God wants to develop. Why? Because our character determines how we interpret God’s will. When asked about cheating on exams, students from non-religious independent schools had the lowest cheating rate, 47 percent, compared to 63 percent of students attending religious schools. Of greater concern, 93 percent of students surveyed indicated they were satisfied with their own character and ethics saying that when it comes to doing what is right, they thought themselves to be better than most people they knew.

4. Someone once said that character is what you do when no one else is around. In 1 Tim 3 the bible uses the word blameless to describe leaders in the church. They are commanded to be blameless, self-controlled, have orderly lives that demonstrate a love for strangers. They must have well-managed homes, obedient children, and biblical use of financial resources. And most of the list of qualities that are presented there are character traits commanded of believers in other parts of scripture. As a believer, do you distinguish yourself from your peers and co-workers? Do you stand head and shoulders above the rest? Do people look to you as an example of biblical standards and truth in action? Are you all encouragers of others? Pray that your character would be impeccable, and your spirit be excellent, and the only faults that are able to be pinned on you have to deal with the law of your God.

B. Unassailable Discipline (v. 10-11)

1. We are told here that it was Daniel’s custom to open the windows of his room and pray toward Jerusalem every morning, noon, and night. The interesting thing about this is that it tells us that when Daniel knew that the law was a signed law, then he went to pray. Now remember the command was simply not to pray to any god but the king for 30 days. Wouldn’t it have seemed reasonable to simply pray in secret for 30 days, or fast from pray for 30 days (some of you may go a couple of weeks without prayer) so why no thirty days? Maybe just close the windows, or pray with your head under the covers, but no change? Is he kidding? It seems like it would be so easy to compromise his faith for just a few days, right. But Daniel was determined to please an audience of One regardless of the cost! Marriage power statement.