Dare To Be Daniel

GOALS: To challenge YFC members to have conviction like that of Daniel and his young friends.
To inspire them to stand up for God even if it means standing alone.

DYNAMICS:

1. Discern a speaker for this activity.
2. Prepare 1 to 2 sharers and brief them accordingly.
3. Open with worship.
4. After the talk and the sharers, give the guide question for reflection.
5. For the reflection song have the music ministry play Refiner’s Fire or another song that can lead them to reflect.
6. Ask the group to divide into households to share among each other with the reflection question as guide.

SUGGESTED SCHEDULE

Opening Worship 15 to 20 minutes
Talk Proper (with sharers) 30 to 40 minutes
Reflection 5 minutes
Sharing by households 30 to 40 minutes


TALK OUTLINE

I. DANIEL’S COURAGE

A. DANIEL IN THE LION’S DEN (DAN.6:1-16, 19-23, 25-26)

1. Darius decided to appoint over his entire kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to safeguard his interests; 2. these were accountable to three supervisors, one of whom was Daniel.
3. Daniel outshone all the supervisors and satraps because an extraordinary spirit was in him, and the king thought of giving him authority over the entire kingdom.
4. Therefore the supervisors and satraps tried to find grounds for accusation against Daniel as regards the administration. But they could accuse him of no wrongdoing; because he was trustworthy, no fault of neglect or misconduct was to be found in him. 5. Then these men said to themselves, "We shall find no grounds for accusation against this Daniel unless by way of the law of his God." 6. So these supervisors and satraps went thronging to the king and said to him, "King Darius, live forever! 7. All the supervisors of the kingdom, the prefects, satraps, nobles, and governors are agreed that the following prohibition ought to be put in force by royal decree: no one is to address any petition to god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king; otherwise he shall be cast into a den of lions. 8. Now, O king, issue the prohibition over your signature, immutable and irrevocable under Mede and Persian law." 9. So King Darius signed the prohibition and made it law.
10. Even after Daniel heard that this law had been signed, he continued his custom of going home to kneel in prayer and give thanks to his God in the upper chamber three times a day, with the windows open toward Jerusalem. 11. So these men rushed in and found Daniel praying and pleading before his God. 12. Then they went to remind the king about the prohibition: "Did you not decree, O king, that no one is to address a petition to god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king; otherwise he shall be cast into a den of lions?" The king answered them, "The decree is absolute, irrevocable under the Mede and Persian law." 13. To this they replied, "Daniel, the Jewish exile, has paid no attention to you, O king, or to the decree you issued; three times a day he offers his prayer." 14. The king was deeply grieved at this news and he made up his mind to save Daniel; he worked till sunset to rescue him. 15. But these men insisted. "Keep in mind, O king," they said, "that under the Mede and Persian law every royal prohibition or decree is irrevocable." 16. So the king ordered Daniel to be brought and cast into the lions' den. To Daniel he said, "May your God, whom you serve so constantly, save you."
19. The king rose very early the next morning and hastened to the lions' den. 20. As he drew near, he cried out to Daniel sorrowfully, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, has the God whom you serve so constantly been able to save you from the lions?" 21. Daniel answered the king: "O king, live forever! 22. My God has sent his angel and closed the lions' mouths so that they have not hurt me. For I have been found innocent before him; neither to you have I done any harm, O king!" 23. This gave the king great joy. At his order Daniel was removed from the den, unhurt because he trusted in his God.
25. Then King Darius wrote to the nations and peoples of every language… 26. I decree that throughout my royal domain the God of Daniel is to be reverenced and feared:

B. FAITH, LOVE AND COURAGE

Daniel believed in God’s great love. He knew God would never leave him. This led him to a deep, deep love for God as well. It was from this love that Daniel was able to sum up the courage to serve God, even if it meant having to stand-alone--even when it meant risking his life.

Very few of us will have the chance to stand up for God to the point of death. It would be great to believe that like Daniel, we will stand courageous and risk our lives out of our love for him. But we don’t have to wait for somebody to throw us into a lion’s den or point a gun at us to prove our love for God. Although we may not be fully aware of them, we face our “lion’s dens” everyday of our lives.

II. WOULD YOU STAND UP TO BE COUNTED?

The challenge for all of us, is to be like Daniel who stood up to be counted for God even to the point of death. What are some areas in our lives where we can be called to stand up and witness to people that we belong to Jesus.

A. ARE WE GOOD WITNESSES FOR JESUS AT HOME?

Do we obey and respect your parents?
Do we take care of and love your brothers and sisters?
Do our parents see us strive hard in our studies?

B. ARE WE GOOD WITNESSES OF JESUS TO OUR FRIENDS AND IN SCHOOL?

Do we still cheat during exams
Do we still go out with them and get drunk, or visit places such as beer houses or prostitution houses?
Do they still influence us to do vices such as gambling and drugs?
Do we bring our friends closer to Christ?

C. DO I KEEP MYSELF PURE, EVEN WHEN NO ONE IS LOOKING?

As a YFC member, do I still flirt?
Do you I keep getting myself into situations with my boyfriend/girlfriend that often leads us to sin / premarital sex?
Do I prioritize more my boyfriend/girlfriend over God?

III. DARE TO BE DANIEL

Daniel has shown us a great example of faithfulness and courage. God saw these and rewarded him greatly. We too could be like Daniel, courageous enough to stand up for Jesus and faithful enough to make it last. And surely, if we become like Daniel our efforts here in YFC will be greatly rewarded.

Dare to be Daniel
Dare to stand-alone
Dare to have a purpose true
And dare to make it known

IV. REFLECTION

Do your actions in front of your family, friends and classmates make it easy for you to evangelize, or does it make evangelization difficult?