DANIEL


A. "AND, BEHOLD AN HAND TOUCHED ME WHICH SET ME UPON THE PALMS OF MY HANDS; AND HE SAID UNTO ME, O DANIEL, A MAN GREATLY BELOVED" - DANIEL 10:11
  1. One finds it difficult to select a text as a starting point:
    1. To give a brief summary of the Bible story about the man Daniel
    2. Volumes have been written about this great Bible character
  2. Daniel is singular:
    1. As a man of great intellect and moral integrity
    2. As a statesman he was unexcelled
    3. His peerless life and service to God and men deserve to be studied by all aspiring young men in all ages
  3. Space and time will permit us to touch briefly on a few high points on the life and service of Daniel:
    1. The man Daniel - "Who in the name of God does justice"
    2. Was of royal descent - Dan. 1:5-6; he may be a descendent of King Hezekiah - 2 Kings 20:17-18; Is. 29:6
    3. Providentially, he and a number of other outstanding youths were among the captives and were honored to receive their education in the King's College, the highest centers of learning in Babylon - Dan. 1:1-14
    4. It was there where he received his first test on the principles he had been taught in his childhood - Dan. 1:8-21
  4. Let us note some of the great secrets of Daniel's peerless and useful life:
    1. His unwavering devotion to God must be noted as the very foundation of his success - compare, please, Daniel 1:8-21 with chapter 6:5; 20:10
    2. His devotion to the principles of the highest moral integrity man is capable of is next - Dan. 6:5,4
    3. Third on the list was his prayer life - a man that defies a law that prohibits prayer at the risk of death is truly a man of prayer - Dan. 6:10; 9:1-17
  5. Daniel was a man upon whom God and men bestowed many great privileges, too numerous to mention:
    1. In Daniel 2, 7 and 8 God unfolds the events in human history
    2. But, most of all, all these events were but markers to the great climatic events - the setting up of the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ - Dan. 2:37-45
    3. Daniel thus had the gift of prophecy and was permitted to see the conflicts of the nations and the ultimate triumph of God's kingdom
    4. Also, Daniel was permitted to see the close relationship of the ministry in the earthly sanctuary to the services in the heavenly sanctuary - Dan. 8:13-14
    5. Specially, did he see the second phase of the works in the heavenly sanctuary, the judgment scene - Dan. 7:9-11; Rev. 14:6-7
B. WHAT WE MAY ATTEMPT TO APPLY TO OUR OWN LIFE
  1. As parents, we must be diligent to teach our children the fear of God:
    1. When we admire the noble life of Daniel, we cannot help but think of his parents who layed the foundation for his nobility - Prov. 22:6; Gen. 18:17-19
    2. To be tied to the principle of moral rectitude is a must for one to succeed; Examples; Joseph - Gen. 39:9; Samuel - I Sam. 3:19; Daniel - Dan. 6:4-5
    3. To be faithful even in the little things of life is till another element vital to lasting success - Luke 16:10; Matt. 25:31-39
    4. Last, but not least, is the prayer life that is a must for abiding success; Examples: The Bible teems with illustrations of vivid examples of men and women of prayer; Abraham, Jacob, Hannah, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Paul, Anna, and many other witnesses to the prayer life
  2. But best of all is the fact:
    1. That the virtues of Daniel were as truly the gift of grace as his breath
    2. And that is what God did for and through Daniel - He is ever ready to do for anyone that will follow the principles that Daniel lived by, and that can be you and me


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