Daniel 6:28. “So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.”
Before we begin, I would love you to read the above Scripture one more time but slowly and carefully. I am sure there is something you must have discovered which I may not have seen. But I found something so interesting about Daniel from this Scripture that I am so eager to share with you. I believe it will be a secret into what you have been trusting God for in your leadership and into what will make you different in your time and in your generation.
I was led to this verse and while I read it, the Holy Spirit opened me up to something very striking. Let’s begin with the beginning of that sentence. It said; “so this Daniel.” Making it more specific, direct and particular. This word was carefully used because there could be many Daniel in that kingdom. Just as there could be a billion people or more on the face of the earth, a thousand or million leaders spread across the continents of the world. So, the script describing him here says; “this Daniel”, this particular person, talking about differentiation and singling out a man out of the crowd.
We may want to think that this is the first time Daniel was being singled out; we could also see in Daniel 1 verse 20, the Bible says; And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. And I began to ask the Holy Spirit, what set this men apert, why are they so different from the rest? What makes their leadership endure for this long. And I discovered something very fascinating.
Looking at that verse of the Scripture again, it says; Daniel prospered in the reign of Daruis and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Again, I came to discover that Daniel and others were originally captured and taken to Babylon. In Daniel chapter 1 verse 1, the Bible says; In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. Another word for besiege is to surround a, territory, country, community or any place where humans interact interdependently, with armed forces in order to capture it or force its surrender.
The point I am trying to make is this; if Daniel was among those young men that was taken from Jerusalem to Babylon, it means that Babylon was a separate empire from Persia. So, this Daniel came to a point were his influence prospered to the point that he was not just relevant in Babylon, he was also relevant to the king of the Persian empire. We could also recall how He served king Nebuchadnezzar, king Belshazzar, king Daruis. So, his influence was not restricted to the borders of Babylon, it went abroad extending even to the territories of the Persian empire.
But what was the secret of this Daniel? I want us to see Daniel 5 verse 11, it says; “There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your [d]father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your [e]father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers.”
I want us to see the statement that opened up that verse. It says; ‘There is a man’ talking about Daniel it says in him is the Spirit of the Holy God. So, it means that every vessel has a content, and what fills the vessel called Daniel is the Spirit of the Holy God. Scripture says there is a Spirit that is in man and the inspiration of the almighty gives him understanding. Pharoh’s cup bearer said concerning Joseph in Genesis 41 verse 12; “And there was there with us a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard and chief executioner; and we told him our dreams, and he interpreted them to us, to each man according to the significance of his dream.” So, what Daniel or Joseph or Sampson or any great man in the Bible could do is attributed to the Spirit that has filled such a man. The Bible says there is a power that is at work in us. So, in every kingdom or empire there is always a man that has something that people will be referred to. So, Daniel was being described by the Spirit that is operational in him. I find this challenging and I hope it will be so for you too. What kind of Spirit is at work on the inside of me? This is the reason why you and I must not settle for less but to press for the treasures of God so as to be a relief to the burdens of men and also to God.
You may be wondering why I said that. The reason is this; as much as God can ease the burden of men, men can also carry the burden of God towards men. I discovered something interesting in Exodus 32 verse 16; It says; “The tables were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.” Such artistry and craftsmanship! But the next time God intended an artistic work to be done, He singled out two men called Bezalel and Aholiab. And what singled them out among the other tribes was the nature of Spirit God had put inside of them. So, in every man there is a spirit and the result of what the man produces could be traced to the spirit that is operational in that man. I would love you to follow me patiently and with an open mind. I believe the Holy Spirit is building a background into what He want us you and I to understand.
In Genesis 2 verse 7, the Bible says; “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, I want us to note this word; ‘God formed man of the dust of the ground’ and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” The first thing I realized about Daniel was that there was a deliberate formation by God. The king had an intention which was captured in Daniel chapter 1 verse 4 to 5. The intention of the king was to choose young men in whom there was no blemish. Kings may choose men without blemish, without weakness, but God doesn’t do that he puts his strength in the men that is why He formed the man out of the dust of the ground. It says; men without blemish but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and [b]literature of the Chaldeans. 5 And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king.
Two things I want us to pick here; he chose young men without blemish but with other criteria which include being gifted in wisdom, knowledge and quick understanding. The essence of all these is so that they may serve the king after they are done with the training. This also looks like the intention of God in Genesis 1 verse 26. The Bible says; “Then God said let us make man in our image and according to our likeness let them have dominion.” The man with the image of God is the one that can serve God. And the man who is actively in the service of God is a man in dominion. In order words, the man serving the purposes of God in partnership with the Spirit of God which would produce the knowledge, wisdom and understanding is the man that will have dominion. And the man with dominion is the man without a blemish, fully responding to the authority of the Spirit. Are we seeing that? But until the man goes through Gods training which is the formation and breathing of the breath of the Spirit of God, such a man cannot serve the king. Having had this background, what then was the secret of Daniels influence?
Daniel 1 verse 8 says; “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore, he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” Jesus said for their sake I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
From where we just read; I discovered two things from this passage; the first is that the criteria for the king choosing those young men was because they have no blemish. Here we could see that Daniel purposed not to defile himself. This means that to be without blemish is not to be defiled. And not been defiled gives a reward of continuous relevance before the king. This is the secret. Remember how we began, we noted that there was an excellent Spirit found in this Daniel as a vessel. But if that excellent spirit will continue to find expression, then Daniel must keep to the terms and the requirements of the Spriit of excellence. And in keeping to those terms, he will stay relevant.
So, it is not enough to be trained, it is not enough to be called or chosen by the king, are you maintaining or keeping the requirements that won’t defile you? Serving the king is far beyond being good-looking, tall and having a broad shoulder, but what does the Spirit lay demand of you? Do you meet those requirements? What have you purposed in your heart that you will never defile yourself with? Until you know this secret, it will be difficult to replicate, maintain or sustain excellent performance or expressions of the Spirit.
This is what set leaders apart. Jesus was speaking to a people in Luke 19 verse 42; He said; “They do not know what makes for their peace.” If I may ask; Do you know what makes for your difference? Daniel understood that to be set apart is the secret to be set apart. What do I mean by this statement? It means that until you are willing to be set apart you will never stand out of the crowd. The regular things people do and see nothing wrong with it may be the things the one who has breathed His breath into your nostrils may forbid. If you will be sensitive to know and stay away from them, then excellence, influence and dominion is something you shall have. If your influence will transcend generations and impact other part of the world or empires just like Daniel, you will have to separate yourself from the world in order not to be swept by the world. And if the world cannot influence you, the world have no choice but to be influenced by you.
The second thing I noted was that Daniel learnt to eat only vegetable and drink water in the palace were wine was surplus and choicest delicacies was served. He learnt how to abound and to abase according to the words of Apostle Paul. He recognized that even though the delicacies were about pleasure, he didn’t fancy that kind of life. He was not led by his stomach, making it his god or even eating food that were sacrificed to idols. He learnt contentment and humility; He wasn’t given over to pride. It is one thing to be in a palace, is another thing not to be carried away by the things that sway the people living in the palace. We saw Moses set the same example to us; even though he was raised by the daughter of Pharoah, he recognized that he needed to serve the people out of bondage. Even though Jesus was the Son of the highest, He was among the people as one who serves. This is a palace and it is a privilege to be in a palace. And there are certain decorum that is expected in the palace especially the food and mannerisms. I noticed that in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar wine was in surplus, so also delicacies of whatever choice. We could see how later in Daniel chapter 5 verse 17, that gifts couldn’t sway him or control him. It began by the discipline he had purposed to subject his heart to.
The third thing I realized about Daniel was that he was a man given to prayers and was never ashamed of his God. He is persuaded about who he believes, he held God with high esteem. Bible says the whole duty of man is to fear and revere God. Daniel 6 verse 10 says; “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.” Did we see that? The easiest way to influence a people, a nation, an organization or community is by prayer. Daniel wrote in the book of Daniel 11 verse 32b saying; “but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” Apostle Paul said that I may know Him. You must know if you will ever become great and influential. Daniel knew the place of knowing God; he was determined to know Him in a nation that was full of idols. The nation of Babylon had their gods before his arrival, but the government of Babylon came to a point where they had no other option but to glorify the God of Daniel. In the days of Joseph, the Egyptian empire had their gods and religious practices, but a time came when they had to honor the God of Joseph. Until people begin to see God or the expressions of the Spirit of God in you, you have not begun to influence the people. And the ultimate aim is so that all the glory will return to God.
True influence is a people acknowledging the excellency of the power of God, the power of an endless life through an earthen vessel, through the leader. If you can take note of these, then like Daniel yourself and I will prosper in the reign of kings -Darius, Cyrus, and the Persian empire; establishing the kingdom of God, the will of God in every territory or sphere of influence. This is how to become an excellent leader; this is the foundation of influence. falling short of these must draw to the place of realignemnt and conscious commitment.
Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Apeh Francis Abah!
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