Propaganda

Daniel 1:1–7 NLT

During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia and placed them in the treasure-house of his god. Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon.” The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names: Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego.

Introduction:

We Are Given a Place in This World.

We did not chose our place, where we were born, what conditions we were born, to whom we were born. What if you find yourself in a place that was against everything you believed in. This is what Daniel and his friends faced.

Babylon defeated Israel (v. 1). They carried off many captives back to the nation of Babylon (v. 2). Among these were young Israelite men like Daniel and his friends. They were given a Babylonian education, and trained to serve the Babylonian king (vv. 3–5). Although he remained in Babylon for the rest of his life, Daniel never forsook his God and his faith. He remained a Hebrew despite his location and surrounding pagan culture.

- The Sovereignty of God - God handed the King of Judah over to Nebuchadnezzer.

Just like Daniel and his friends were transplanted from their nation into a foreign one with different beliefs, people who are born again find themselves belonging to another kingdom—a heavenly country.

Ephesians 2:19 NIV

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,

Living as a born-again believer in the midst of a pagan society can be a challenge. Sometimes we might feel like we are interacting with people from an entirely different planet.

Listened to a summary of Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for life. And one of them is don't blame society or others for your place in life. It may not be that you don't have anything to complain about, but by focusing on what others have done to you or your lot in life it keeps you from focusing on what you are going to do with your life.

But lets be clear about what society wants to do.

The World Wants to Shape Our Identity.

The Babylonians gave Daniel and his Israelite friends new Babylonian names that defied the God of Israel by naming pagan false gods, but just because they were called something different didn’t diminish who the young men really were. Their Hebrew and Babylonian names all had significant meanings: “Daniel means ‘God is (my) Judge.’ Hananiah means ‘The Lord shows grace.’ Mishael means ‘Who is what God is?’ Azariah means ‘The Lord helps.’ Belteshazzar probably means, in Babylonian, ‘Bel (i.e. Marduk), protect his life!’ Shadrach probably means ‘command of Aku (Sumerian moon-god).’ Meshach probably means ‘Who is what Aku is?’ Abednego means ‘servant of Nego/Nebo (i.e. Nabu)’” (Kenneth Barker, et. al., The NIV Study Bible, (Zondervan, 1995), 1291).

Daniel and his friends were chosen as youngsters to propagandize, to strip them of their Jewish identity so that they will serve their new masters, the Babylonians well. They want them to fall in love with the gods of Babel, and serve the empire.

Talk about the influences in my life.

- The time where a fellow student was upset that our College Professor of Physics believed in Evolution.

- Stephanie when she was pressured to write a paper on inventing a new religion.

Think of all of the influences these days that we have and our kids have, and all of them are vying for our identity.....

- Schools, elementary schools, Middle Schools, High Schools, and Colleges.

Curriculums chosen by the organization to what the teachers bring.

To their fellow students

- Social Media - Every idea known to man is vying for our attention on social media from Atheism, to Gnosticism, to Paganism, to Evolution, to Creationism, to Secular Humanism, to Modernism, to Post-Modernism, to Post-Post Modernism, to Left Wing Ideologies, to Right Wing Ideologies, to Marxism, Communism, Socialism, Capitalism, Islam, Feminism, Masculinism, And Christianity - within that the varying ideas in protestantism, catholicism, eastern orthodox.

- These ideologies can influence people take certain actions - shootings in schools, protesting then raiding the capital, protests on the streets, assassination attempts, shootings at bars.

Or they might influence people help a fellow-citizen, stand up for someone who is bullied, care for the poor, care for the sick, honor and protect other people.

How do we navigate this seemingly endless stream of ideas vying for our attention and influence.

Know Who You Are.

1. [Note to the Pastor: To illustrate this next idea, hold up your passport as you talk about our identity as children of God who belong to his kingdom.] “Because of the cross, Christians know where we’re headed, and because of the cross, we are guaranteed citizenship. It is the country we belong in, the home and land we’ve been looking for all our lives. The color of our passport is blood red and our eternal visa has already been irrevocably stamped in” (Rachel Pieh Jones, “Citizens of Heaven,” Desiring God, February 21, 2013, <http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/citizens-of-heaven>).

We have temptations as Christians in the face of all of this to as Richard Neighbor suggests.

Christ against Culture - Opposition

Christ of Culture - Agreement with Culture

Christ Above Culture - Either the fulfillment of Culture, Ongoing tension of Culture, or Converter of Culture

Three strategies: in schooling.

- Home Schooling - Often a level of get away from the influences

- Christian Schooling - Institutional Christian influence

- Public Schooling - Dive into all the ideas in culture.

But before we can dive into any of these strategies, our first strategy is to be anchored in our Identity in Christ.

Daniel knew who he is, and Whose he is.

Our identity is one we receive from God our Father when you are a believer. We don’t have to guess at it. We are Children of God, adopted through the Blood of Jesus and Sealed by the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion:

Kids you can be a Daniel as well. Know that you have been placed by God into your place in this world, but no matter how society wants to shape you and influence you whether for good or bad, always remember who you are and whose you are. No one can take away your identity in Christ.