Why do you do what you do? What is it that motivates you at work, home, in life? Just watch this clip from Gladiator, what is the motivation that the general gives his men?

'Imagine where you will be and it will be so... What we do in life echoes in eternity.' I think that is something that Daniel has grasped it is what enables him to live as he does.

(1-4) Tell us of Daniel’s character, it’s his reference. In the midst of corruption (2) he is the stand out minister, he has "exceptional qualities" and that means he is going to be made Prime Minister. God has given him wisdom and understanding but actually there is more to Daniel than just being good at his job. Even his enemies when they dig for dirt on him (4) can't find any fault with his work or his character and are left to conclude that "he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent."

Not only is Daniel gifted but he has integrity, the king can trust him with his life and his kingdom and that’s exactly what the king intends to do and rightly so.

Sometimes people say that the Bible is out of date, that it’s not relevant that it is from another world, that it is out of touch. I guess as we read Daniel 6 the work environment we encounter is familiar. There is the corruption, oh it may not be anything big just a bit of corner cutting, or sending personal emails in work time, the odd day off 'sick' to do DIY or have a long weekend. There is the intense ambition, and the envy, jealousy and spite directed at someone who excels. Does that strike a chord with the classroom, staff room, or office?

The Bible deals with real life and yet Daniel stands out. As we look at Daniel this morning there are lessons here that can help us with the office, playground or staff room politics. We are going to think about why and how Daniel stands out.

(26-27) are a summary of all that has happened so far in chapters 1-6 and they are a bridge into chapter 7-12 where we will see these truths again and again.

How does Daniel, how can we, live like this?

1. Focus on God and his unshakeable kingdom (26)

"For he is the living God
and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
his dominion will never end.

That is what Daniel focuses on whilst he is in exile, in chapter 1 it is seen when as a teenager he "resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine!" It is why as kings and empires have risen and fallen Daniel is the constant, why now he’s in the court not of Nebuchadnezzar or Belshazzar but of Darius as an old man.

What makes Daniel stand out is that he is God’s man. It’s why he prays even after this trap is set, even when the decree is passed that no one can pray to anyone but Darius for 30 days. Daniel could just not have prayed for 30 days, but he still prays. Why? Not because he is a prayer addict but because he knows he hasn't survived by his wits but by God’s power. He prays because he depends on God, and because he knows that God is at work even in these events, building his unshakeable, unbreakable, unending kingdom.

What does Daniel do? He goes home (10) opens his window and faces Jerusalem. It’s an odd thing to do when you think about it because Jerusalem is nothing but a pile of rubble it looks to all intents and purposes as if God’s kingdom has failed, but Daniel believes God is building his kingdom even while it lies in ruins. Just glance over the page at 7:1, Daniel has this dream in the first year of Belshazzar and in the dream he sees the cosmic battle of history between God’s kingdom and the kingdom of the world and God overcomes and sets up a kingdom that "will never be destroyed." It’s a dream with many parallels with Nebuchadnezzar’s in ch2.

Daniel takes God at his word (9:2) and believes God’s promise through the prophets that the exile will end, God is building his kingdom. Daniel prays because as one of God’s people, part of a kingdom that cannot be destroyed.

Daniel has his focus on God and his trust in God and God’s word, a trust that is proven to be wise given the contrast between God and Darius. Darius is swayed by the court, they massage his ego and he stupidly accepts their lie in (7) that "The royal ministers, prefects, satraps... have all agreed"

Why is it a lie? Daniel didn't and wouldn't agree to such it and the king must have known that. But flattery gets them everywhere and Darius is manipulated.

And his impotence is highlighted as he attempts to change his own ruling (14) but can't and there follows a night of unrest and anguish in the palace (18). Do you see the contrast? Who would you put your trust in? Better to be Daniel in the lions den trusting and focused on God and his kingdom than a pampered but powerless king prowling his palace.

How can Daniel live as he does? Because he has his focus on God and has understood from God’s word that God’s "kingdom will never be destroyed, and his dominion will never end." It means that as the seal is put on the stone death warrant Daniel’s hope is in God not himself or the king.

What do you deserve if you serve God well? I guess we are tempted to think its good things, an easy life, as if God operates by divine karma. But Daniel 6 should give us pause to think about that. Daniel consistently serves God and yet it consistently brings him into conflict and danger not comfort.

Why? Who is responsible for Daniel being in the lions den? It is part of the cosmic battle that we'll see in the coming weeks. As Daniel is thrown into the lions den it is part of the struggle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of opposition. Daniel is God’s representative in a foreign land, God’s envoy in hostile territory, God’s soldier on the frontline. And battle and conflict are the inevitable consequences of serving God.

Daniel can live as he does because he knows victory belongs to the kingdom that cannot be destroyed because God’s dominion, God’s rule, never fails.

2. Trust in the God who rescues and saves (27)

"He rescues and he saves;
he performs signs and wonders
in the heaven and on the earth."

Rescue has been another theme in Daniel. God rescues the 4 young men as he tells the dream and interpretation to Daniel, in chapter 3 he rescues Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the furnace, and throughout the book he has kept Daniel while all around has been chaos, siege and change.

Daniel knows that God is a rescuing God, he only has to think of Israel’s history, the Exodus, the judges and so on, each time God delivering, saving, his people. And the big question in this chapter is can God save again, it is found in the kings cry as he hurries to the tomb (20); "Has your God... been able to rescue you from the lions?" Is your God a rescuing God, is he capable of saving you?

The answer to the question is in (21-23) as Daniel unexpectedly answers the king and as (23) "Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God." What do you notice about the rescue? God’s rescue is total; there is not a single scratch on Daniel. The completeness of the rescue is emphasised by the fate of the men who accused Daniel (24).

God rescues his people, those who like Daniel (22) are "found innocent in his sight." How is Daniel innocent? It is not because of his good living, it is because of his faith. Hebrews tells us that he like others lived "longing for a better country... a heavenly one."

Daniel put his trust in God and in God’s promise, the promise he had glimpsed would come with the Son of Man, Jesus, God’s rescuer and deliverer who would bring God’s kingdom into being.

Do you believe that God rescues? That is the question you need to answer?

Daniel describes himself as innocent in God’s sight, we know that we are not innocent in God’s sight; we know that we want to rule ourselves and that such rebellion deserves judgement. But Jesus comes to establish God’s kingdom, to do so by dying in our place though he was innocent in God’s sight so that those who are not, like Daniel and us, can be saved by trusting in what he does for us. It’s the great transfer he takes our rebellion and punishment and we get given his status "found innocent in God’s sight." Will I trust that God rescues?

But there are implications to that rescue; we are saved to be part of a kingdom that is unshakeable and unending. What it means to live in the light of that we glimpse in Daniel. What we do in life echoes in eternity - Daniel’s focus is on God’s kingdom.

It affects Daniels attitude to work, in a foreign land, serving a foreign power and yet he sees his work not as preventing his service of God but as his God given sphere of service for God. It is his attitude, character and actions in the office that declare God to those around him. His work does not define him, his relationship with God does, because he knows God is sovereign (26-7) and rescues he can live as he does.

It affects the way he views life. Struggles are not a sign of God’s hand slipping or him taking his eye off the ball, but a sign of being a soldier on the front line of the cosmic conflict between two kingdoms. God is always in control and he saves so Daniel can entrust himself to God and is liberated to live for him.

It means he puts his faith in God and takes him at his word. He lives knowing he is part of the winning kingdom that will not be destroyed because God is a God who rescues.

'Imagine where you will be and it will be so.' Daniel lives in the light of the God he knows, the rescue he has experienced and the kingdom he knows God is establishing. Will I?

1. How is my faith in God and hope in his kingdom seen in my work and day to day living?
2. Do I believe that God rescues? What is the nature of that rescue?
3. What does my reaction to hardship say about God, his word and my faith in him?

Daniel