Sunday school: God's Reward for the Faithful (Daniel 1)

Introduction:

Have you ever purchased something that wasn’t worth the cost? What was it?

Estebon Guitar ($200)

“Is this really worth the cost?”

“Is Jesus really worth it?”

The cost

The reward

Main Point: The reward for faithfulness to God is worth the cost.

The choice to be faithful to God

Daniel 1:8 (CSB)

Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief eunuch not to defile himself.

Laws about foods

Horseflesh and pork

Drinking wine offered to Babylonian gods

The point: Different from pagan nations

Defiled relationship

“Determined” = inner resolve

What kinds of things does our culture offer us that will pollute our relationship with God?

Examples:

Sexual sin

Entertainment (movies, tv, music)

Gossip

Daniel’s risk of rejection

Losing his job

Pure relationship with God = worth it!

Have you ever experienced a time where you refused to do (or should have) what everyone else was doing? Explain.

Acquire the Fire

2. The test to remain faithful to God

Daniel 1:9–16 (CSB)

God had granted Daniel kindness and compassion from the chief eunuch, yet he said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and drink. What if he sees your faces looking thinner than the other young men your age? You would endanger my life with the king.”

So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief eunuch had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king’s food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.” He agreed with them about this and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king’s food. So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables.

Marathon > finish line

Decision = tested

Talk to chief

Making the decision to follow Jesus is wonderful but it is also costly. What kinds of things make following Jesus tough? Explain.

Alien

Saying “no” to certain things

The fear of the chief

Daniel’s fear of God

What does Daniel’s courage and determination tell us about his devotion to God?

The challenge

The outcome

Daniel had the end in mind

Can you think of a story of God being faithful to faithful people in a difficult time? How does that story encourage us to be faithful?

Jim & Elizabeth Elliott

3. The reward for being faithful to God

Daniel 1:17–21 CSB

God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind. At the end of the time that the king had said to present them, the chief eunuch presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king interviewed them, and among all of them, no one was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they began to attend the king. In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king consulted them about, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and mediums in his entire kingdom. Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Choice of faithfulness = tested

The reward: favor and health

Academic success: “God gave”

Room in their hearts for God’s gifts

Pointing to God

Think of the responsibilities you have (serving family, church, school, job, sports, etc.). In what responsibility do you need God’s power the most right now? Explain.

My job!

A league of their own

“ten times better”

Top Leadership positions

Experiencing the power of God

God’s rewards for faithfulness

Do you think being faithful to God will be worth it at the end of your life? If so, why?

Yes; because he’s the purpose of life

Christ Connection

Daniel and his friends’ faithfulness to God was tested and rewarded.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus’s faithfulness to the Father was tested and rewarded with the name above all names.

Because of Christ’s faithfulness to God, all who call on that highest name-the name of Jesus Christ-share in the free gift of eternal life.

Head: What are some rewards for the faithfulness to the world? What are some rewards for faithfulness to God? Which rewards are better? Why?

What you want most < What you want now

Fruits of the spirit (Gal 5:22)

The greatest reward: knowing and enjoying

Heart: Will devotion to temporary things or eternal things satisfy our hearts? Explain.

The temporary vs. the eternal

Faithfulness lasts

Hands: Where in your life is it hardest to be faithful to God? Explain how you can grow in faithfulness to God in that area of your life.

Pressure from culture, peers, and king

Junk food vs. healthy food

The goal