Daniel 1: Trusting In God, Living Differently
Notes
Transcript
This morning we are going to begin to go through the Old Testament book of Daniel. Now you probably know the stories that are found in the Book of Daniel
Daniel in the Lions Den
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Firery Furnace
And maybe you remember the Handwriting on the Wall.
But the Book of Daniel is more than just stories we remember from a Sunday School class. The Book of Daniel displays the sovereignty of God, how we can stay faithful in the world, and we can see God’s redemptive plan for his people…us, as believers.
Now before we start, let me give you three definitions. The first two are about God, and the last is about us.
Sovereign or the sovereignty of God : this means that God is in control. He knows everything and nothing surprises him. Even in the times that we think he is not around or doesn’t care, he is still on the throne and over all his creation.
This is an important belief of our faith as Christian. We realize that the God who made us, who offered salvation through his Son Jesus, is the ultimate authority, has the ultimate power and desires for you to have a relationship with him.
The Prophet Jeremiah said this:
17 “O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!
Faithfulness is another character of God.
Faithfulness: means that he will never forget us, he is always there for us. He will never leave us alone.
Now that does not mean that everything we want or desire he will give us. That doesn't mean that we will never get sick, but what it does mean is that mean is that for those who seek him and follow him, he will keep them and one day, when this life is over, we will be with him in eternity.
Moses said...
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
He is faithful. True to his character.
Righteousness: The way a believer lives in a way that pleases God. What we do, what we say, and the way we live our life as his child. Righteousness is not just words, but a way of life.
John says it very clearly:
1 John 3:10 (ESV)
10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
If your life does not reflect God, then you are not living a righteous life/
So as we begin our study through the Book of Daniel and all the events that we will see happen, lets set our minds to remember this: He is in control, he is faithful to do what he said, and for those who follow him, we are to live a righteous life in this world.
This morning as we look at the first chapter of Daniel, we are going to see how we can stand firm in difficult times.
Trusting In God, Living Differently
Trusting In God, Living Differently
****CBC CREED
****CBC CREED
Open your Bibles to Daniel Chapter 1. (Read 1:1-7)
These first seven verses show us the time in which this occured and culture. But we can also see Daniel’s faith. Where he put his faith. And not only Daniel, but three of his friends.
So in the first seven verses, we can see what God was doing through his chosen people, the Israelites.
So lets go back in time and look at God’s chosen people, the Israelites.
1,200 years before Jesus came into the world (1200 BC) God came to Abraham and told him that through his seed he would create a nation of his people. We know these people as the Israelites. The nation grew like God promised. And after being slaves in Egypt, moving into the Land of Promise, they wanted a King. The first King was Saul, the David, then King Solomon. After the death of King Solomon, they people continued to seek other gods and not give their alligence to the one true God, so God allowed the people of Israel to be divided.
Now remember there were 12 tribes within the Israelites, and when they divided, 10 tribes went to the north and two tribes stayed in the south. In the North (Israel), they followed King Jeroboam, but in the south (Judah), they continued to be loyal to the house of David and followed Solomon’s son, Rehoboam.
The people that we will see as we study the Book of Daniel were in the Southern Kingdom. Their capitol city was Jerusalem, and in verse 1 it is now the third year of the southern kingdom and Jehoiakim is the King. Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon comes it and captures the southern Kingdom.
When he captured them, he took everyone, but he was really interested in two things:
some of the vessels of the house of God (Daniel 1:2)
2. some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. (Daniel 1:3-4).
He took both. Vessels from the house of God were the items that were in the temple. What did he do with them, he put this God-honoring items that were used as a part of worship in the temple, and he placed them in his own temple, which was a temple to a false god. (Small “g” two times in verse 2).
But he also wanted the smart people, those who were endowed with knowledge. Why? Because he wanted to make his Kingdom greater. And he knew that if he took the best of the best, the smartest, and taught them their way (the ways of the Chaldeans) they not only would Babylon be a great military force but would be wise and full of knowledgeable people.
So here we are introduced to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
These four men were captured and taken to a foreign land and were going to be taught a different language and be surrounded by different gods. But their God was still in control…he was still sovereign, he was still faithful, and their God would do great things in them as they remained faithful while they lived in a different culture.
Do you know, that if you are a Christian, a follower of Christ, you live in a culture that is not you own? I know you are Nigerian, but if you are a Christian, Nigeria is not your home. Just like I am American and America is not my home.
1 Peter 2:9–12 (ESV)
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
That’s who you are, as followers of Christ. You are not of this world. Your world, your eternity is alligence to the one true King…Jehovah God. The God of the Bible. Abraham, Isaac, and David.
Now before we move to verse 8, I want you to look at verse 5:
5 The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king.
SO the king, wanting for them to study and become more wise, he wanted to make sure they were getting the best food in Babylon. And you would think that the King would have the best food. Right. If you were to have a meal with the President, I’m sure that you would have the finest food, and you would eat very well.
But look at how Daniel refused the Kings food in verse 8:
Daniel 1:8 (ESV)
8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.
What’s wrong with the Kings food? The Scripture says here that Daniel did not want to defile himself. What does that mean?
You see King Nebuchadnezzar served “small g” gods. They did not serve the God of Abraham, Issac Jacob or David…Jehovah. So the food that would be brought to Daniel and his three friends would have first been presented as a sacrifice to a traditional god. So if Daniel were to accept and eat this food, it would go against everything he believed and who he was as part of a people that God had called out as his own.
Let’s continue to read (Daniel 1:9-16)
Who needs meat? Look at these guys, eating vegetables, growing strong, becoming smart, very wise. Well it wasn’t just the vegetables, it was God too. Look at verse 17.
(Read Daniel 1:17-21)
It was now time for Daniel, Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to come before the King and show how they have grown. It had been three years. They had recieved the finest education and they King wanted to see their progress. Look what it says about these young men…
20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.
These young men were changed. They had grown in their physical appearance, they had become more wise. In fact, the King had his own magicians and enchanters and they had ten times the understanding that they had. Why?
Because they ate food that was better for the body? No. Because they had been studying for three years? No.
There was one reason for their physical appearance, wisdom, and knowledge: Verse 17:
Daniel 1:17 (ESV)
17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.
GOD GAVE THEM. God was their source for knowledge. God was their source understanding. God used them because they wanted to be used by God.
These four young could have been captured and taken away to Babylon and they could have decided NOT to to anything good for the King. They could have refused to take any food. They could have decided among themselves that he was the enemy and they would do nothing to help him or his kingdom of Babylon.
That is what many of us would have done. If the nation of Niger were to attack Nigeria and you were captured and taken as a prisoner, you would not be happy. You wouldn’t want to do anything to help their President. You wouldn't be happy. Especially if they served another god.
Do you know what Daniel’s name means? The name Daniel means “God is my Judge.” As an Israelite man, this was a good name. He wanted to live up to that name. He wanted to live a life that proved that he was a servant of the Most High God, and at the end of his life it would be seen by man and God that he stayed true to Jehovah God.
But now, Daniel’s name is changed to Belteshazzar. Do you know what the name Belteshazzar means? It means “Bel protect the Prince.”
For many years, the Jewish people had been stumbling and falling into the worship of the false God Baal, and now Daniel, a servant of God whose name meant “God (Jehovah God) is my judge” is now labeled with the name of the pagan god, Baal.
He could have said, “enough, that’s it. I’m done, just kill me.” But he didn’t. He continued to look to God. he continued to serve the one true God, and in the middle of it all, he knew that God had not forgotten him.
Remember the two words? The first was sovereign. Do you remember what it means. God is in control of everything. Nothing happens that he does not know about. He knew that Nebuchadnezzar would carry of the Israeli people from the Southern Kingdom. He was still in control. And because of that …. remember the second word: Righteousness, Daniel continued to live a life that honored his God even in the worst circumstances. WHY? Because he knew that God was in control. God was sovereign.
How should we live as a Christian in this world? First, look at how God sees you as his child who has come to faith through Jesus Christ?
Deuteronomy 14:2 (ESV)
2 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
A people holy to the Lord, chosen, treasured possession. Because of that how should we live, wherever we are?
2 Corinthians 6:17–18 (ESV)
17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”
Paul says to be separate from them. Maybe people look at this verse and think that I cant be around people who don’t love God, love Jesus or go to church. I need to totally separate myself from them, not talk to them, not be friends with them, not be around them. But that’s not what this verse means.
If God would have us separated from the unbelievers, then why did he tell us to Matthew 28:19
Matthew 28:19 (ESV)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
For the Christian, the believer, there is a balance we need to have as we live here on earth, and that balance includes life of righteousness and not a life of compromise.
Righteousness as opposed to compromise.
Righteousness means staying faithful to God and living for him in every way.
Compromise means shifting your principles and not staying true to beliefs.
You can’t live a righteous life before God and compromise with the world. What does Matthew 6:24 say?
Matthew 6:24 (ESV)
24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
John also reminds us that if we love the world, the the love of the Father is not in us (1 John 2:15)
Even the smallest compromise is wrong. We may think, nobody will know. Its so small. Everyone is doing it. Look what Jesus said:
10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
The smallest bit of faithfulness is great before God, but also the smallest bit of unfaithfulness in great before God.
As a believer in Christ, God has called us to live a certain way…a standard. If we say, he is our God, and we are his children, the we are called to live like he is our God and we are his children. There is a reason that Jesus said in Matthew 10:16
Matthew 10:16 (ESV)
16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
Why? Because the devil wants to destroy you. He wants to confuse you and pull you away from how God wants you to live.
I see it everyday. I hear about it all the time. I am even tempted to compromise. And you may be too. But that is what faithfulness and righteousness is all about… staying focused on who saved you, what he wants for your life, and the best way you can honor him as you live your life here on earth before you see him one day.
As we move through Daniel over the next weeks, we are going to see a shift from the Bible stories we know of Daniel to visions that God will allow him to interpret about the coming age. Things in the future.
One day. This world will end. Its true. Everything we see here. Everything that we do will all be over. There will not be an Opi anymore. There will not even be a Nigeria anymore.
The apostle Paul was given a vision of this about 1900 years ago. And this vision from God this is what John saw…
Revelation 21:1 (ESV)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
All gone. The dirt we stand on, the houses we live in, the schools and market we go to…all gone. But more than that… time will end. Time to to give your life to Jesus. Time to do the right thing and not compromise. Time to tell a friend about what eternity would be without Jesus.
And you may think, “oh that sounds like some thing that is way into the future. There is still time.” Maybe, or maybe not. Jesus said in Matthew 24:36
Matthew 24:36 (ESV)
36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
In fact Paul says that this time will come 1 Thess 5:2
1 Thessalonians 5:2 (ESV)
2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
We do not know the time, be should just be ready. How can we be ready for something we don’t know when it is coming?
Faithfulness. Remain faithful to the God that you believed in, who saved you, who paid the price of your sin with the blood of his own Son. How do we do this? Look at the example of Daniel.
Daniel 1:8 (ESV)
8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.
That word RESOLVE means
RESOLVE: Hebrew word: שׂוּם (sum)
Verb meaning means to SET IN PLACE
KJV: purposed NLT: determined
You and I, live in a world that does not honor God. They don’t care about God. You go to school everyday and there are those who want you to take your eyes off Jesus. They want you to give and follow them into sin. Stealing, gossiping, sexual impurity, and many other things. But if you are saved by the grace of God, everyday, you need to resolve, you need to determine and you need to live on purpose, that you will live the way Jesus wants you live.
Daniel had a choice. Go along with the customs and culture that he was in and turn away from what he knew was right.
OR
Resolve not to turn away from the faith, grace, and God that saved him, even when everyone else was doin git.
YOU HAVE THE SAME CHOICE. You can go about your day, doing what the culture says is ok.
OR
You can make a stand for God. Not matter how people look at you, no matter what they say, no matter if they want to be around you anymore. Because the reason that you do this is because you don’t want to defile the Lord God that saved you.
Only you can make the choice for yourself. Defile yourself or resolve to stand strong.
How can you remain faithful? How you walk in righteousness? Let the words of God become alive in you. Don’t just say…. ‘the truth of the Bible will change my life.’ Live it. Look to it.
Joshua wrote how important the Word of God was in the life of the Christian. He said:
Joshua 1:8 (ESV)
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Later he said…
Joshua 24:15 (ESV)
And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
You have the choice, for your own life. While you trust in God and live differently?