Speaker 1: 0:01

Hello and welcome to Walk the Walk. Well, this is our second in the series of Biblical Influencers, and last week we talked about Queen Esther and Mordecai, and we talked about the words of Queen Esther that saved the Jewish people from death. This week, we're going to talk about Daniel the Jewish people from death. This week, we're going to talk about Daniel. Now, daniel was a man who was exiled to Babylon. It just seems like Esther was also in the exile as well as Daniel. Now, daniel was a man that was fervent prayer. He was dedicated to God, no matter what. Now, keep in mind, when he was exiled, he did also find favor with King Darius, and the king loved him, and Daniel was able to even feast with the king, although Daniel was not a man that would take advantage of things such as that, because he was so dedicated to God, he said I'm not eating that kind of good food that you want to offer me, and he ended up eating vegetables and water and whatever, and that I don't know if you remember when the Daniel diet was so popular that I think Jeff and I even did that with a group of people in our church, and so if you're interested in checking that out. You can still get the Daniel diet as well. It's a biblical diet and I think maybe, if you are looking for some way to make yourself a little healthier, maybe you want to check that out. Well, here's what happened, and it generally always doesn't happen by the king, it's always the king's secondhand man or whatever. Remember, in Queen Esther, it was Haman who did a decree that all the people would worship him, and it ended up being that he was going to kill Mordecai, and Haman ended up getting the same kind of treatment, meaning that he was impaled what he was planning on doing to Mordecai. So Daniel is a very famous man who came under the test of King Darius.

Speaker 1: 2:19

Now, jealous leaders tried to trick the king. They're always trying to trick these kings, and I don't. Maybe they're easy. They were easy to trick because they were so busy with all of their riches or whatever, I don't know into signing a law that banned prayer to anyone except the king for 30 days. And then the reason why they did this? Because they knew that Daniel was a prayer who prayed three times a day to to his God, and so they knew this would hit right, right home. And so, of course, the king signed the law and not realizing that it was Daniel that he was signing the law against which really the king was, was unhappy about this, but there was nothing he could do. I don't know, you may know, but when a king signed something into law like that, they can't turn on their word, which is always so crazy. To me. It's like well, you were tricked. Why couldn't you just say no, no, no, no, but apparently not, they still had to go through with it.

Speaker 1: 3:19

Well, ended up being Daniel's like I'm not, I'm not doing that. Put me to death, do whatever you have to do, but my God is greater, and that I am not going to back down from prayer, thus being that Daniel was thrown into the lion's den, into a den of hungry lions. Bad enough to be thrown into a lion's den, but to be thrown into a den of hungry lions would probably be even worse. Well, king Darius hated it, but he had to do it. And the next day he ran down to see if Daniel had survived, and Daniel suggests God sent an angel and saved him. King Darius was thrilled that he was still alive. He even made a decree that everybody would pray to Daniel's God, which is so amazing to me that, even though King Darius was not a, he didn't accept God as his Lord and Savior, but he had. He sent this decree out that everybody else would pray to Daniel's God. So, or and you know, excuse me and maybe not necessarily even pray, but honor, um, the god of daniel. Now this miracle makes us happy.

Speaker 1: 4:36

We were thinking, you know, gosh, the, it would be horribly scary, um, I think, to be thrown into a, a den of lions, and we think God saved him, saved him from this awful thing. But God, what about the others that you never did save? Why? Why would you save Daniel? And there were others who honored you equally, but they weren't saved in that way.

Speaker 1: 5:06

Well, think about Stephen. He was the first Christian martyr and he was stoned to death. God allowed that stoning to happen, even the apostles, who were all followers of Jesus, who went around and talked about Jesus, who Paul, think of Paul, who was once for Saul, who, by the way, was at the stoning of Stephen. And so think about these guys that went around, risked their life, they were imprisoned, they were beaten, they were stoned and then they were killed in brutal ways. And I think the only one that was not was John, and I think the only one that was not was John.

Speaker 1: 5:48

But what about those who suffer for you, christ, but they're not saved in the way that we would want them to be saved? Does that mean God protects some over the others? No, what it means is that God works in different ways. Sometimes he delivers us from danger, sometimes he delivers us through the danger, but you know what? Sometimes he saves us by bringing us home to him. Now I know what you're thinking. Well, I don't want to go home to him just yet. I want to stay on the earth. I don't want to lose my husband or wife, and I don't want them to lose me.

Speaker 1: 6:35

Doing the work for Christ. Well, being a spokesperson for God or speaking on the word of God is not an easy task. I want you to think about Jesus himself. He even said they hated me, they're going to hate you, and then that's the very thing that we will see you will be hated by some, not all. But I just want you to hear that the bigger picture is that our ultimate goal isn't just survival on the earth, it's eternal life with Christ. Paul said, for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. That's the perspective Daniel lived with and it's the hope that we should carry as well. Daniel's night in the den shows us that God is powerful and faithful. But even if the story had ended differently, daniel's hope would have been the same. That's what made his influence so enduring he trusted God.

Speaker 1: 7:46

With the outcome I just I know, and I know, you know, man to think, you know, and I don't hesitate to bring up Charlie Kirk because I don't want these all to be about him, but he has set an example to all of us and actually probably has influenced me to talk about the influencers. But think about this and you may not like what I'm about to say as an influencer, you may never know how your work has impacted people. Until you're gone, you may never know. I'm going to say that very thing for Charlie Kirk. He has no idea what work he has done and has left behind. Today I watched the memorial service for him and nearly 100,000 people and millions watching People are ready to carry on his name, to carry on his work, not like they were doing this before, but now there's this lighting under the people saying I want to carry on that work that he has done.

Speaker 1: 9:04

So let me ask you this what's your lion's den right now? You may feel pressure or compromise in your values, fear of criticism, or walking through a season of loss. You may be the only person at your job that believes in Jesus Christ and you may be encountering people who absolutely despise you. Listen, I know what that feels like. I've walked through that lion's den before. I've walked through that lion's den before and knowing that I had to stand firm against people who absolutely hated Jesus Christ and because they hated him, they hated me. Daniel should show you how to respond, how to stay faithful, how to keep praying and trust God with the results. People are watching us. They're watching how we are handling the roar of the lions. Your steady faith might be the influence that points them to God. Listen, you do not know what your actions or words are saying right now. Maybe people are just like. They're watching you, they're listening to you, but they may never tell you the impact the positive impact you have on your life.

Speaker 1: 10:35

I personally probably don't have a whole lot of followers on my podcast and I've been doing this for years and I say why am I doing this? Why am I doing this? I don't get a lot of feedback, but I still do it because I feel like this is what God wants me to do. And maybe after I'm dead and gone, people will hear my podcast and go, wow, she had a message for Jesus Christ. She wasn't afraid to share. That's my hope, and maybe not today, but tomorrow or in generations to come they will look back and say, yeah, yeah, she's right, jesus is the Lord and Savior and I want to accept him and I want to carry on that torch.

Speaker 1: 11:26

Daniel's story should remind you that the lions may roar, but the victory belongs to Jesus Christ. Our influence doesn't come from being loud or flashy. It comes from living faithfully day by day, even when the world pushes against us. And I know what you're thinking. I have a hard time living faithfully day by day. I know me too. I do too, but the core of my being believes in Jesus Christ and I do try to live like him. And I do try to depend upon him Not necessarily live like him, but just depend upon him in times of grief and struggle and worry.

Speaker 1: 12:15

So this week, I'm asking you to stand firm, like Daniel, trust that God is with you every day and in every den and remember, no matter what happens here, your ultimate prize is not on this earth, but it is with Jesus in your eternal life. Lord, thank you for Daniel's faith and courage, and I thank you for my faith and my courage, and I thank you for the faith and courage of those who are listening. When we face our own lions and fears, oppositions, hardships, hatred. Help us to remain steady in prayer and trust. Remind us that your presence is in our protection and that heaven is our ultimate home. We should not feel comfortable where we are right now if we are still on this earth. Strengthen us, god, to influence others by living faithfully every day. In Jesus' name, we pray Amen.