(This is the Sixth in the message series “What Would You Do For A Klondike Bar?” Here are the links to the previous messages: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5)
Welcome back to the Sixth Edition of What Would You Do For A Klondike Bar? We’re talking about what would one do for Life? And remember, it really depends on how you define Life. Not everyone knows how to define Life—even though they think they do! It’s God Who Defines Life. We cannot define Life for us because we really don’t have what it takes to define Life. So Jesus defined Life for us:
- We Give Up Our Ways For His Way.
- We Take Up Our Cross So That Our Will Can Die And His Will Live In Us.
- And We Follow Jesus Which Gives Us Our Purpose In Life.
Let’s do a very quick review again of the people we’ve looked at so far:
- Naaman almost missed his Klondike Bar—but thanks to some good friends he found Life.
- Then it was Esau—and we found out that he didn’t even want a Klondike Bar. He wanted some stew.
- Then there was Saul—who thought he already had the Klondike Bar—but he didn’t; and he didn’t know it until he became blind!
- And last week it was David—who had already made up his mind what he would do for That Klondike Bar—and did it. And even a Giant would not change his mind.
Everyday Life has a way of putting to the test—Whether The Life We Have Is Worth It, Or Not. Like Saul of Tarsus, we may sincerely believe we have the best Life possible—but then something happens—something changes—and we can be left wondering—even questioning—if the Life we have is really worth what we had to do for it.
Think about this for a moment: Is The Life You Are Pursuing—And What You Do To Have It—Always Worth It? When I say Always—what I really mean is Always! Some people trade one Life for another Life if circumstances change. Some people treat Life like it’s a car—you trade it in for another one from time to time.
I had thought about going in another direction with today’s message. The Bible is full of stories about people and their choices in their search for the best Life possible. And in all honesty, I tried to stay away from this one. But apparently the Spirit thought otherwise; so here I am.
If you went to Sunday School or Vacation Bible School as a kid, you have heard this story. And I’ve found that this story—like all these others—speaks volumes when it comes to finding Life—and determining it’s value. Our special guest today is none other than Daniel. Now let’s turn to Daniel 6, and read verses 1-11:
1 Darius the Mede decided to divide the kingdom into 120 provinces, and he appointed a high officer to rule over each province. 2 The king also chose Daniel and two others as administrators to supervise the high officers and protect the king’s interests. 3 Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers.
Because of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire.
4 Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. 5 So they concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.”
6 So the administrators and high officers went to the king and said, “Long live King Darius! 7 We are all in agreement—we administrators, officials, high officers, advisers, and governors—that the king should make a law that will be strictly enforced. Give orders that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions. 8 And now, Your Majesty, issue and sign this law so it cannot be changed, an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked.” 9 So King Darius signed the law.
10 But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God. 11 Then the officials went together to Daniel’s house and found him praying and asking for God’s help.
from the New Living Translation
Most of the time we focus on Daniel in the lion’s den—as if that’s all that’s happening There is more happening here than God preparing a petting zoo for Daniel. Daniel is facing a choice—THE Choice—about what he did for his Klondike Bar.
Today’s Big Idea: We Cannot Afford To Compromise IF We Really Want the REAL Klondike Bar! Once we have the Real Klondike Bar, there will be—call it a challenge—that will tempt us to give it up for some other kind of life.
In those moments when Life becomes challenging—there will always be what appears to be an easier way to handle it—and the right way to handle it. How we handle those times when it would be easier to seek a way that is different than the way God wants us to handle Life—Is Determined By The Value We Place On Our Life In Christ. Daniel teaches us something about resisting that temptation to seek another kind of life.
1. Daniel Did Not Allow His Circumstances To Change His Convictions.
Even though he had been taken away from his home—and all that was familiar years before—It Did Not Change The Reality Of His Walk With God! Away from his home and forced to live in a foreign land—Daniel Held His Ground! The changing of his circumstances did not change the reality of the Life that he had all along. It Never Altered His Faith. Just like David, Daniel had already made up his mind what he would do for That Klondike Bar.
Before that lion’s den moment came, Daniel’s Convictions Were Set. David and Daniel had a different set of circumstances. David was facing a giant—and Daniel was facing a lion’s den. But their Situation—and OUR Situations—Remain The Same: God Can Always Be Trusted! Nothing changed IN Daniel simply because of a change in circumstances. And our convictions should never change simply because we are facing a different set of circumstances.
2. Daniel Held Onto His Convictions!
Daniel could have pretended to obey the King’s 30 Day Law. He could have acted like he was following King Darius’s 30 Day Law. He could have said in his mind, “Well, my confidence is still in God. This really doesn’t mean a thing to me. I’ll just keep the king happy. I’ll act like I’m doing what the king demands in public—but in my private life—it will only be God.” Compromise doesn’t just affect our outward appearance—it drives itself down to the deepest parts of us. It’s like putting a drop of food coloring into a cup of water.
It spreads out and into every molecule of water. Daniel could have compromised. Instead, He Opened That Window. Why open the window? So That Others Could See That He Wasn’t About To Give Up His Klondike Bar! If Daniel had compromised—even a little—he would have destroyed his convictions. That’s why people are going from this to that and the other is because they don’t have the Convictions That Are Necessary for The Klondike Bar! When we give up Life for what the world tells us we need, we have lost it—the life our heart hungers for above everything else!
3. Daniel Trusted The Outcome!
Would he exchange it for something else? Something less dangerous? Nope! Why? Daniel Wasn’t Worried About The Outcome. He wasn’t worried that those lions would rip him to shreds. There was going to be an outcome. Every Decision—Every Choice About Life—Has An Outcome. Our problem is that we tend to focus on that “What Might Be” outcome—rather than The God who can use that outcome for something far better than we can see. For Daniel, it wasn’t about survival.
More than Daniel surviving a night with a bunch of lions—It’s more about Verse 10—But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down As Usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, Just As He Had Always Done, Giving Thanks To His God. When Daniel heard about The 30 Day Law—He Did What He Usually Did. He prayed with thanksgiving. Now, he didn’t know the outcome—but he knew The One who was giving him Life. And that’s enough for Daniel—and it should be enough for us.
When there’s a threat against us, We can do the FSW Thing—and for many—maybe you—it’s the first reaction. A difficult, even hard circumstance comes against us. What’s our choice? Is it the FSW Thing? Oh, what’s the FSW Thing? It’s Fret, Stew, And Worry. FSW says, “How Are YOU Going To Handle This Moment?” But when you have The Klondike Bar—We know we can’t handle it. But He Can, And He Does! And since we can’t follow Jesus and stay where we are, Here’s Our Next Step:
Look At The Biggest Threat Facing You Right Now—And Give The Outcome To God!
Get your hands off of it. Stop trying to figure out a way to fix it. That’s hard to do—I know, I know it’s hard to do—to NOT fix it. But it’s not impossible to do. All we have to do—is to do what Daniel did before that threat—praying to God with thankfulness.
Kingdom Pastor 
