Sermon Tone Analysis

*Daniel Part #1*

*Attack on Identity in the *

*Midst of a Bad Harvest*

*2-15-09*

 

Has happened often in my 20+ years of ministry

·                    Counseling

·                    Reap what sowed—ignore God’s laws—ouch

·                    Need to Outlast old harvest—take time—

·                    Sow for NEW harvest—grace released into present harvest

 

Going to look at Daniel and friends—*Daniel Chapter 1*

·                    Fascinating study—outlasting bad harvest

·                    Navigating hostile season

o       US~/world—bad harvest

o       US~/world—hostile season

o       War natural—spiritual

 

Daniel and friends give us keys to understand how war is working (develop)

·                    In middle of outlasting old harvest

·                    Sowing for new one

·                    God met them in POWERFUL ways

 

Historically—II Chron rebellion

·                    Cultivates Captivity

·                    Babylon—lies

 

More than just bad harvest

·                    Babylon poised to ERADICATE their

o       Faith—identity—all hope

o       Absorb nation—ASSIMILATE

 

Resistance is FUTILE—reaping a bad harvest

 

But God had a plan

·                    Had not abandoned—even in midst of bad harvest—still working

·                    Keys in lives of Daniel and friends are powerful for us today

 

Some of you in bad harvest—

~*        God says, ‘I have a way out for you . .

.’

Two Strategies in Daniel:

·                    *The Enemy’s STRATEGY TO DESTROY*

·                    *God’s Strategy to Protect Advance *

 

3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace.

He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.b

/5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table./

They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.

[1]

* *

*Came against the young generation of leaders*

·                     Enemy attacks youth—Emerging generation of leaders

·                     Young men—smart—teens—leader

·                     Nebuchadnezzar targeted the EMERGING leaders of Judah

* One of the most effective ways to subdue a NATION is to steal the   emerging generation and MENTOR them in the ways of the captors

* They gut their leadership structures by stealing the very best

* Cut OFF from FAMILY—From GOD

* And bringing them into false alignment with lies

* Over time Old die—young rise up—lead new GENERATION

Classic scheme of enemy today:

·                    Fragment youth

·                    Separate them from God~/family

·                    Mentor them in sin and deception—MTV—Reality TV

·                    Watch society change

o       America’s 60’s

o       Reaping fruit

o       *Parents:  Can’t be PASSIVE*

o       *Young People:  can’t be passive*

When you grab them young

·                     Can exploit--manipulate

·                     Hitler started with youth--and almost conquered all the major nations of the western world

Obviously, attack on youth

·                    Fracture—destroy families

·                    Bring false mentors—education—media—false family structures

 

That’s why at River

·                    Strengthen family—generations

·                    YM~/YW—mentoring opportunities—AWANAS

 

How does enemy work?

·                    Target youth—maybe you’re not so young

·                    Enemy attacks INNOCENCE

*Come against the Royal Family and the Nobility *

‘Royal Family and the nobility . .

.’

* Targeted on the Royal blood line

* The Royals carry authority in their very blood—*DNA * * It’s WHO they are

* Attack royal IDENTITY

* Strip it of it’s authority

* FEAR of the ROYALS discovering or REMEMBERING who they REALLY are

One of BIGGEST attacks on believer ID

* Today—enemy attacks the ‘royal priesthood’ of believers

* Causing us to ‘settle for a prisoner’s life’

* When we were called to rule and reign

Personal application—live like REJECT—when meant to live like PRINCE

·        Even in times of bad harvest

*Change the way they THINK* 

 

VERSE:  It's fascinating that the strategy for subduing the generation

·                     Was through changing the way they THINK

* Literature—language—culture

·                     Make them absorb the culture--mindset—understanding

·                     */Re-programming in Babylon/*

In Babylon selected Israelites were given specialized education.

Those chosen were the most likely to be natural leaders (/from the royal family and the nobility/), (3) and had already demonstrated intellectual prowess.

They were to be re-educated intellectually and treated royally.

Several aims were in view, /e.g./ religious reprogramming (language, literature and diet all carried religious as well as cultural meanings) and a ‘brain-drain’ which would simultaneously weaken the prospect of a capable future leadership among the Israelites and potentially strengthen Babylonian society when the process was completed (5b).

Reprogram

·                    Simultaneously weaken future leaders

·                    While strengthening Babylon society

·                    Mindset

o       Change the way they think so they THINK like a *Babylonian*

o       Neuter leaders’ strength~/ID

o       While POISONING their THINKING

o       *STRONGHOLDS*

 

When enemy can poison way of thinking—