Visible Faith in Society

Spark Interest: Taylor or Bible

Raise your hands if you know who is Taylor Swift. Raise your hands if you know what is a Bible. I want to start today's message by playing this game called “Taylor Swift or Bible”. Rule of the game is simple - a sentence will be shown on the slide, you have to decide if it's from a Swift Pop Lyric or from the Bible. Now just a tip, while all Christian bibles essentially say the same things about God, there are different versions of the bible that may have more modern ways of phrasing God’s truth. So here goes..

So, did y’all find it easy to tell the difference between a pop song and a Bible verse? Sometimes - not so easy, right? In the same way, in today’s society that is full of different messages, sometimes it's not easy to know which values come from God.

If you have your bibles, turn with me to the book of Daniel— today we’re looking into a time when a young man and his friends found themselves living in a society full of different beliefs and pressures. But before we go any further, let’s pray. |

Big Idea

So, the book of Daniel shows us this powerful truth: steadfast faith can transform society. (Write this down first)

Context

You see: Long ago, God’s people were divided into two kingdoms: | Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Back then, the world’s superpowers weren’t the US, Russia, or China, but mighty empires like Babylon and Egypt. | Because Judah kept turning away from God, He allowed King || Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to conquer Jerusalem, the capital city of Judah. Babylonian forces marched through the entire city, destroying everything in their path and even desecrated God's temple by going in and taking sacred objects and bringing them back to put in their Babylonian temples. It was total disaster for God's people.

The Babylonians had a smart military strategy—they didn’t just wipe out everyone in enemy nations. Because if they did, no one would be left to maintain their fast-expanding territory. Instead, they took the best and brightest young men from Israel: | “youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom…” (Daniel 1:4a). By taking these future leaders and using their talents for Babylon, they weakened Judah and, at the same time, strengthened their own empire. Very smart. So, in case you missed it, | Neb from Babylon, invades Judah, destroys everything, then kidnaps a bunch of youths with rizz and brings them back to Babylon.

Now, first of all, | Babylon was not a nice place to be. It was known for being proud, wicked, and very cruel. People there worshipped many false gods and did all kinds of wrong things—there was a lot of idolatry, sexual impurity, and a strong focus on greed and money. Once these young exiles get there - they were immediately put into school, taught Babylonian language and literature for three years. | Daniel 1:5 says, “The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. ” Now before you think, “what a generous and kind king,” you must know why the king did this. He wanted them to know, “your old God isn't here anymore. Here, I provide for you!” So among these youths were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, probably just teenagers at that time.

The next thing the King does might seem a bit weird - He changes their names | ; took away their Hebrew names, gave them Babylon ones: Daniel became Belteshazzar, Hananiah became Shadrach, Mishael became Meshach, and Azariah became Abednego. Why do you think the king did that? The answer is in the meaning of their names. See - Their Hebrew names honored the God of Israel, but their new names pointed to Babylonian gods (like Aku, Bel and Nebo). The king meant to erase their old identity as God's people and to replace that with a Babylonian identity. |

So, let's break it down: what was society like for Daniel and friends? |

Pressure to leave behind their Christian faith and identity |

Non-Christian Values are Popular; Christian Ones Ignored: the majority of people in society had values that were very different from Christians. |

Loneliness: Remember, Daniel and his friends were taken away forcefully from their families and placed in a foreign country. |

Peer Pressure: Time and time again, Daniel and his friends had to decide whether to go along with the crowd or stand up for what they believed was right. |

High Expectations: The Babylonian system put Daniel and his friends through intense school and training, expecting them to excel and serve the king well.

Now I don't know about you, but I remember that when I was a tween, I could relate to some of these things. See, I wasn't really good at making friends, so I often felt alone In a new environment, especially when I just entered Secondary School. There was a lot of expectation to do well in studies and excel in CCAa. There was also a lot of peer pressure and what was popular wasn't always the Christian thing to do. For instance, in Sec 1, there was a boy in my class who was a bit different from everyone else. He behaved a little oddly and didn’t really fit in with the popular crowd. The popular students would often pick on him—calling him names, making jokes at his expense, and sometimes even pushing him around. I remember feeling really uncomfortable whenever it happened. Deep down, I knew it was wrong and I wished I had the courage to speak up for him. But I was scared. I worried that if I said something, the bullies would turn their attention to me, and I’d become their next target. So instead, I kept quiet and tried to blend in, even though it didn’t feel right. Like Daniel and his friends, we sometimes will feel like “exiles” in a society that doesn’t always share our Christian values.

But God had a purpose for His people in exile. He didn’t just want them to survive—He wanted their faith to shine and for them to make a difference. | In Jeremiah 29, God says, “..to..all the people… taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon… Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf.” Even as exiles, God wanted them to bless their new community.

So there are many stories of visible faith in Daniel. But because today is just an overview, we’ll zoom in on the 3 main ones. Here’s the TLDR: |

Story 1: King’s Food Remember the food that King Neb offered the exiles? Daniel and his friends refused to eat the king’s food because it went against their Jewish food laws. The Babylonian person in charge was concerned because if they don't look healthy, he's going to get it big time from the King. Daniel says let's have a test - let us not eat the food and just eat vegetables and water for ten days and you see for yourself if we’re healthy. God honored their obedience and made them healthier than the rest. |

Story 2: The Fiery Furnace Neb wanted everyone to bow down to a statue of him. Daniel’s friends refuse to worship this golden statue. They’re thrown into a fiery furnace, but God protected them and they came out unharmed. |

Story 3 (the famous one): Lion’s Den Daniel continued to pray to God even when it was forbidden. He was thrown into a den of lions, but God kept him safe all night.

In all these 3 stories, Daniel and his friends choose not to leave behind their faith even when it was difficult, they stayed faithful to God and trusted Him. In the end, they actually end up making a very powerful difference in society. How? Not 1 or 2, but 4 non-believing Kings experienced God through Daniel and His friends.

Here’s what they did. |

1. Drew their lines and locked in to their faith convictions

What is a conviction? It’s a strong belief that guides your choices—like a trusty compass. Daniel and his friends said YES to Babylonian school, new names, and jobs for King Neb. But when it came to eating the king’s food, bowing to a statue, or stopping prayer, they said NO—because God’s commands were clear. They drew lines based on their faith, helping them stand out and make a difference.

But Scripture also says that Daniel “purposed in his heart” not to eat the king’s food (Daniel 1:8), and when prayer was banned, he kept praying as he was his custom since early days (Daniel 6:10). These weren’t last-minute decisions—they were habits and choices Daniel made long before trouble came. |

An author writes this, “Convictions require you to decide what’s right ahead of time. They’re not based on what feels good in the moment. We don't mean to be judgemental when we share them with others, but we do need to be sure of them” Daniel didn’t wait until the food was offered infront of him to ask, “Am I okay with this or not?” He was sure long before that that it's a no-no for him.

So here's Discipleship Challenge #1: |

When life is smooth, build up your faith convictions. Draw your lines (what's ok by our faith, what's not?). Cause sometimes, if we wait until we’re in the middle of a tough situation to decide where we stand, it’s already too late. If you wait until a friend is about to show you something impure online to decide what you should or shouldn’t look at - it's probably too late. If you wait till you're super angry with someone to think about how God sees revenge, you're probably too late.

If you want to make a real difference for God in society, start by building strong faith convictions early. This begins with knowing God’s heart. You know, Many of us read about Daniel and think, “It’s impossible to have that kind of courage.” While Daniel’s courage was extraordinary, it came from knowing God deeply and understanding what truly mattered to Him. Whatever was important to God became important to Daniel—so much so that he was willing to risk his life for it. Today - get to know God’s heart. Because this will build up your faith convictions and help you make a courageous difference in society.

So that's one, draw your lines.

2. He Mastered The Daniel Method - Relied on God |

Now, how many of you here like Math (Raise your hands). Who likes a very challenging problem sum? I didn't like Math - but I learnt in school that the key to solving the hardest problem sums, is usually to master the method. That's why practice is important for math - because once you master the method, they can give you all sorts of challenging numbers - usually you can solve it.

Daniel and his friends followed the same method whenever their faith was challenged.

| First, they asked God for wisdom to make the right choices. The Bible says God responded, giving them knowledge, understanding, making them “ten times better” than others in the king’s service. |

But, they also looked to God for favor with those in authority. You see, we can’t control how other people respond to us, but God can. In Daniel’s story, the kings often liked and respected him, even though he was a foreigner. But favor didn’t always work—Daniel still ended up in the lions’ den, and his friends were thrown into the fiery furnace. |

When favor failed, they prayed for God’s protection. Daniel trusted God to keep him safe from the lions, and his friends believed God could rescue them from the fire. |

But the most amazing part is their steadfast faith. Even if God didn’t rescue them, they still trusted Him. As Daniel’s friends said: “Our God is able to deliver us…but even if He does not, we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image” (Daniel 3:17-18). That is steadfast faith - even if God doesn't, I will still trust He is in control.

So, here's Discipleship Challenge #2: | Master Daniel’s method. When your faith is challenged, ask God for wisdom, pray for favor with those in power or influence, seek God’s protection if needed, and no matter the outcome, trust that He's in control.

Third thing they did. |

3. Excelled in doing good for the society where they lived

Daniel and his friends obeyed God’s instruction in Jeremiah, standing out and making a difference; not by getting back at Babylon or plotting against the king. But they excelled in seeking the good of society and they stood out through their excellence and integrity.

Daniel 6:3 says, "Then this Daniel distinguished himself above all the other high officials.. because an excellent spirit was in him." He really excelled in his contribution to society - no wonder the non-believing Kings favored him. But he also excelled in his integrity - he was determined to do things rightly - he did his best, he didn’t anyhow do things.. he served the community with honesty and excellence. And together, God used his faithfulness in sticking to his faith convictions, with his excellent spirit in doing good for society, to give such a powerful witness to those in power at that time.

So here’s Discipleship Challenge #3: | Excel in doing good in society. This is your witness; this is how we make the biggest difference in society. |

Call To Action:

So when I was a missionary in Thailand, I spent a lot of my time visiting elderly villagers (it was actually my favorite part of the job). But there was one elderly lady who always stood out to me. She was fiercely against Christianity—whenever we passed by, she would shout, “I don’t want anything to do with your religion!” Even so, we never stopped visiting her. We’d bring her basic supplies like rice, water, canned food, and toiletries, just to make sure she had enough to get by.

Years went by, and everything was the same. She still took the supplies but made it clear she didn’t want to hear anything about our faith. But one morning, as we were doing our usual rounds, we noticed from far away that she looked especially upset. Something felt off, so we decided to visit her first that day.

When we arrived, she asked us in Thai, “Why do you continue caring for me, when after so many times, I refused to hear anything about your religion?” We told her, “aunty, because your life is precious to God!”

Weeks after that, out of the blue, we noticed her suddenly coming to church. And so we asked her what changed her mind; the elderly lady recounted that very day when we visited her - with tears in her eyes, she told us of how she had been planning to end her life that very morning by overdosing on chemical pesticides. But our visit was just at the right time to mess up her plan. If not for our visit, and the reminder that her life was still precious - she may not be here today.

Four years of just faithfully showing up in society; just blessing people no questions asked - could transform a heart that hated God to be open to Him once more. In the same way, 70 years the 4 friends in Daniel spent in Babylon consistently excelling in doing good for society, softened the hearts of cruel non-believing Kings towards God. | Can we be that kind of BeTween, each of us stepping forward to be a blessing to society by excelling in doing good! Because in doing so, you actually give a very powerful witness of God’s presence in society.

The stories of Daniel and his friends aren't just about keeping ourselves pure. It’s about being a faithful presence in society, blessing others, and pointing them to God. Will you decide in your heart to serve society with strong conviction and compassion, trusting God to use your visible faith for His glory? Let's respond together. |

On the next slide—and on the back of your sermon cards—you’ll see four amazing ways you can put your faith into action and make a real difference in our society.

From June until the end of the year, we’re sending out teams to:

Bring joy to families at Jalan Besar through a fun-filled family carnival.

Bless the elderly by taking them on special trips to the supermarket to help them get the essentials they need.

Care for God’s creation by cleaning up one of Singapore’s nature parks.

Share the love of Jesus in Batam by running a mini-Christmas program for a local church.

These are more than just activities—they’re opportunities for you to step up, just like Daniel did, and say: “Yes, God! I want to give my best and make a difference in society.”

Right now, I want you to take a quiet moment. Look at these four options. Ask God where He wants you to serve. Let the Holy Spirit speak to your heart.

If you feel a desire, or even just a little curiosity about one of these ways to serve, I challenge you: be courageous, write down your names and check one of the boxes. Trust that God can use you to bring hope, joy, and love to those who need it most.

So take a moment now where you are. Let God lead you. And when you’re ready, tick the outreach you’re feeling led to be a part of!

Now, before I hand the time back to the worship team, I’m wondering if there's anyone here today, that finds his or her faith constantly challenged in society - just like Daniel and his friends. Perhaps things happen around you that you know are clearly not right, but always in that moment, you struggle to find the courage to stand out to make a difference. Or maybe you find yourself compromising on things that you know matter deeply to God. I really want to ask God to give you the courage and wisdom not just to stand firm, but to let your faith shine - just like Daniel and friends. Would you raise your hand or in your heart just pray, “God, that's me.” I want to lead you in a prayer. Will you pray this prayer with me in your hearts.

Dear God,

Thank You for loving me and always being with me.

Sometimes it’s hard to stand strong in my faith, especially when others don’t understand or when I’mpressured to fit in.

Just like You helped Daniel, please give me courage to do what’s right, even when it’s tough.

Help me to trust You, to stay true to who You made me to be, and to shine Your light wherever I go.

Fill me with Your strength and wisdom, so I won’t compromise, but will always choose You.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen.