S2Ep8 - Daniel: Unshakeable Conviction

Conviction doesn’t happen in the moment — it’s brewed long before the pressure hits. This episode follows Daniel’s resolve in Babylon, showing how men stand firm without compromise when culture pulls hard and the cost feels heavy.

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Welcome And The Daniel Theme

SPEAKER_00 0:01

You're listening to Coffee Break Theology, a King of Kings podcast.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

Coffee Break Theology. Welcome back. So excited. Godly masculinity is this season's topic. And uh we're doing this great series on the men of God. I'm loving this. I'm Greg. And I'm Marcus.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

I love it too. Uh today we're talking about Daniel, the man who stood firm. Hey, we say that again.

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Yay.

SPEAKER_02 0:29

He stood firm in a culture designed to pull him away from God.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

You know, it's interesting. I feel like today in our world, like everything is just trying to pull at us one way or another. Yeah. Um, and in a direction marketing's a billion-dollar business,

Culture Tries To Shape Your Choices

SPEAKER_01 0:45

and it works. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:47

By the time this episode airs, the the Super Bowl will be over. But for us today, here and now, recording this, it's gonna be in a few days. Yeah. Um, but thinking about that, we're gonna be bombarded with with ads that were purchased for crazy amounts of money. I don't even know what they go for anymore. They used to be like a million dollars for 30 seconds, and now I'm sure it's way more than that. Yeah, but but all these ads are trying to do it to get us to do something, right? They're trying to get us to to buy something, to eat something, to be like someone out there. Um, and some of the time, a lot of the time, if we're being honest, especially for us Christians, uh, they're they're aimed to get us to to compromise on our values, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Yeah, I think the Super Bowl ads always always married. I felt like last year's Super Bowl ads were kind of a dud.

SPEAKER_02 1:30

Yeah, I agree. So hopefully it's been a couple years, I think, since we had this year's a little bit better.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

I feel like it's been a while since we've had ones that you're like, oh, I I'm gonna talk about that for a while, right? So yeah,

Daniel Chooses A Line Before Pressure

SPEAKER_01 1:40

anyways, sorry. Um, you know, in Daniel's time, um, he arrived in Babylon, right? There was pressure to compromise. Oh, yeah. Um, there were things pulling them all sorts of ways. Yep. And and it was in everything, even down to what they ate. They were told uh to do it this way. Right.

SPEAKER_02 1:58

And and in Daniel 1.8, Daniel responds to this, but but Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food. There were certain things that the Hebrews they weren't allowed to eat, right? And that's what the king was offering. Right. And and Daniel said, Nope, not for me and my boys. Right.

SPEAKER_01 2:14

And and that's the key, the key. Daniel decided before the pressure came, and that's a key difference. Like when we set resolute before what the pressure is, yeah, right. Um, I I think I think then we can stand firm even greater, yeah, right. Just knowing this is my conviction. Um, and and so he didn't wait until it was in front of him and then have the temptation, and then like, oh, what do I do? What do I do? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 2:37

So that was a good character integrity choice. Yeah, and I think you know, choosing ahead of time where that line is, you know where to stand. Yes, because then if you're in the moment, you don't know where the line is, you can't see it, you just keep taking steps back, and you're like, I don't know where the line should be, even. And so all of a sudden you're sure. Ways way further back than you thought you were, and and more further back than you should be. Oh, totally. Um, but yeah, he he uh Luther explains in the the first commandment um explanation, you shall have no other gods. That's the first commandment, it fits perfectly. Whatever you say your heart on and you put your trust in, that's that's truly your God. Yeah, like you might say something, but whatever you actually trust in. And so for Daniel, Daniel's heart was set on God. Yeah, he he truly trusted God, so that was his God.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

And it can be so difficult in the moment to resist forbidden things. Like, yeah, um, we have to be like Daniel, vigilant and prioritize our trust in

Compromise And The Devil’s Strategy

SPEAKER_01 3:30

God. Like, that's an important part. We just have to be resolute in that and have that as our resolve, right?

SPEAKER_02 3:35

And and we we've talked about the devil already a few times in here, but um his goal is to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants to demolish you, he wants to eradicate you from from God's love. That that's his goal. Um what he likes is an easy target. The easier he can he can fulfill that goal of his, the the better. Um if he can get you to succumb to that temptation without a fight, he's got you. He's got you, he's got his hooks in you, right? Right. Uh and he's sneaky, he loves to strike when you're not paying attention. Yeah. And and going back to my favorite verse, first Corinthians 16 13, it says, Be watchful. Right. And this is why, because the devil is playing tricks on you. Yeah, be able to discern what's going on around you.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

Yeah. As soon as um we proclaim Jesus, we get pulled into that fight immediately. I I kind of put it like the the moment you're baptized, there's a target on your like the circle on your back. The moment you get confirmed and say, Yes, this is my faith, a bigger circle on your back. The moment you get married, a bigger circle, because that's a union that that is biblical. And so, so as we're doing biblical things, that target is there. And and here's the deal: like, Satan wants to take you out, like he's not playing, he doesn't want to harm you, he doesn't want to hurt you, he wants to destroy you and he wants to do it quickly. And and compromise is one of the quickest tried and true methods that he has. This is this is to to Eve, right? Did God really say, do not touch? He didn't say eat, right? Right, yeah, do not touch. And and it was like, no, he didn't say that. Well, but again, it was a compromise that he was looking for. Right.

SPEAKER_02 5:10

And I've heard this about the devil and and the and the way he does this. He he gets you to to change what God says just a little. He teaches you half truths. Correct. And and the other thing I've heard about it is he's been fighting this war way longer than we have. Right. He's been at this thousands of years, right? The the millions and billions of men that he's fought against and women that he's fought against, he he's better at this game than I am. You're not gonna outwit Satan. No, not at all.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

You are incapable of doing it, exactly. Yeah, but we have a God, yeah, who is bigger than him, amen. And that's what we stay with our conviction.

SPEAKER_02 5:45

Exactly. And that that's that's how Daniel fought off his compromise. He had an issue, they were trying to get him to compromise, and he said, Nope, conviction. I I have that in in God, and and we need that as well. How do we get it though? Like how how do we prioritize that trust? How

Pray Simply And Stay In Scripture

SPEAKER_02 6:00

do we how do we make that something that we can use as well?

SPEAKER_01 6:03

Yeah, and it's really really quite simple, right? Pray and be in the word. So if you're sitting there going, okay, pray, what what does that look like? Just just in the midst of something that you feel like is pulling you away, just say, Lord, guide me. Yeah, that's it. Just those those three words. Lord, guide me. Yeah, and and and you you have that prayer. And then and then getting into the word, and and you want to know a word, go to Proverbs. Just just the just read the Proverb of the day. So if it's the 15th day, read Proverbs 15. Nice. It's it's the eighth day read of the month, read Proverbs 8. Like, so just get into the word. It's simple, right? Um, and and and you know, in in the uh Reformation, Luther was pressured to recant. Like with his life. I mean, it was like either turn away from this or you're gonna die. And and there was very much um uh like a commonality of that. Luther was the first he wasn't the first reformist, but he's the first reformist to survive. Right. Um, and so he said, My conscience is my captive to the word of God. His conviction tied him to the scriptures and said, I will give it all up for what the word says.

SPEAKER_02 7:10

Right. That that's conviction that that allows the standing firm. Yeah, it allows that. Yeah, Luther believed in and Daniel believed in a in a God who who is and and and he is what he says. Yeah. Yeah, God reveals himself to us. And so if you know who God is, then you know what he says, and you know that it's he's going to be the victor in all of these things. Yeah, and just like the rest of the men we've been talking about, Luther had that conviction. Daniel has that conviction.

SPEAKER_01 7:42

Yeah. Yeah, I I love like it's we're

When Authority Conflicts With God

SPEAKER_01 7:45

looking at the you know, Daniel in the life of Daniel, Daniel 6. Uh, he's a leader in the king's government, he's found favor when others aren't, and they don't like that. So they convinced the king to make this law uh that praying to a god or a man other than the king was illegal. Now, now Daniel's not looking for trouble, he wasn't like pressing things, but he also wasn't gonna hide from it either.

SPEAKER_02 8:09

Exactly. And and so he's taught and he knows he should pray. So he prays to God, even though he knew it was illegal. Yeah. And he didn't hide it, he didn't shut himself up and and and try to keep it from everybody. Right. He did it, and his opponents were aware of this, they knew he was gonna do it, so they were ready for him. They they caught him, they told the king. Uh, but for us today, what we can learn from this part of it is is we're to submit to authority. Yeah, but there's a caveat to that. Like God sets up governments, yeah, and God's in control still. But when when when authority tells you to do something that's contrary to his will, that's when you stand up and say no, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 8:46

Yeah, and the way I do this with submission to authority within our church, within our denomination, um, and even within, you know, like like when we were going through COVID and all that stuff, I had to always ask myself the question is is this in the way or is this in my way? And if it was if it wasn't in the way, then I had to relent to the authority and say, This is this is in my way, and that authority has has authority over me. Sure. And so, so that's one way we can do that, but you know, and and um and and how we look to stand firm like David. Yeah, or Daniel, sorry. Oh both, oh both, both stood firm.

SPEAKER_02 9:22

Yeah, so yeah, and you can ask yourself, like, would I do that?

SPEAKER_01 9:26

Right.

SPEAKER_02 9:27

Can can I do that? The answer is yes, like like I would say, yeah, I think so. Like, but again, I think so based on my own merits and my own willpower and all that stuff. Yeah, no, absolutely not.

SPEAKER_01 9:40

But Daniel knew who could help him do that, and he did it. I mean, in the face of like you know, this is one of those those kind of stories that we struggle to to identify with, especially as uh, you know, uh 2026 Americans uh from the United States, but but Daniel is up against being literally eating eaten by lions, yeah. Like the teeth of the ferocious beast aren't enough to deter Daniel to compromise, and um he wouldn't regret his convictions, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:17

And I I think yeah, we don't face those. No. If I'm like if somebody said you have to do this or you're gonna get eaten by a lion, like yeah, I don't know. I don't know how strong my conviction is there, especially if it's standing right there. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:29

Uh Andy Stanley says this your greatest regret, speaking of Daniel doesn't regret this, but your greatest regret regret will almost always stem from a dis decision where you compromised your values. Yeah, Daniel refree refused to create that kind of regret. There it just wasn't gonna happen. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:47

And and the result, right? God's protection

Lions Den Outcome And A Challenge

SPEAKER_01 10:50

and Babylon's king recognized and saw God's power, right? This was a transformation witness moment.

SPEAKER_02 10:56

Yep. And Daniel was safe in the in the den. Um it says the angel shut the mouths of the lions. Uh, what does that mean? I don't either he was really strong, which is likely he could have just shut their mouths. But what I like to think is the angel had some snacks for those lions so they wouldn't be worried about eating them. What do you think those snacks were?

SPEAKER_01 11:14

Yeah, yeah. Uh gosh, maybe, maybe little uh kibbles and bits. Some meow mix. They're cats, yeah. Meow mixes. Oh, yeah. Just little bang strips. Yeah. When I go to Africa and do the safaris, I always just carry around a little little little cat treats in my pocket just in case I run into a jaguar or a lion. Or a lion, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Did that ever happen? I'm ready. No, I didn't. I we didn't see a I didn't see a lion. We did see the tail of a jaguar. So yeah, we didn't see a lion. So saw lots of crocodiles.

SPEAKER_02 11:48

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:50

Well we face the same cultural pressure today that Daniel did. Yeah. I mean, it's yeah, we do. Maybe not a lion's den, but there's always temptation to downplay our faith, uh especially to fit in.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

Yeah. Yeah, and and that's the thing, like our convictions aren't to be stubborn for stubbornness' sake, right? They're they're to be convicted for the truth and the love of God.

SPEAKER_02 12:14

Right, right. Yeah, being stubborn is one thing, but but right stubbornness to stand firm in his word is not I don't know if that's necessary. Yeah, no. Uh so here's here's a challenge for you for for everybody listening. Decide one non-negotiable in your walk with God. Yeah. And then and then live it out.

SPEAKER_01 12:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:32

Yeah. What that might look like.

SPEAKER_01 12:33

Yeah, and I think when you decide it now, right, not in the face of temptation, yeah. Um, that's Daniel level conviction. And honestly, like then you'll look and you'll say, This is this is this is um where I can see the way out of temptation, right? Um, which God promises, because you're already prepared for what's to come. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 12:56

Well, that's it for this week. We're done with Daniel. Next week, we're going to Peter. Hey, New Testament, New Testament. We're getting there. New Testament guy. Um, we're also going to learn why Peter never learned this old adage. Yeah. Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. Kind of like me, I suppose, or you, but that's good. We'll talk about it next week. I like that. See you later.

SPEAKER_00 13:19

All right. Thanks for listening to Coffee Break Theology. Be sure to tune in next time and remember to check out our other podcast series available on every major podcast listening service.