Finding God’s Will- Setting Your Standard

Purpose and Theme for the Weekend

One of the most common and confusing questions students at your age are asking is “What is God’s will for my life?”

By it you are likely thinking about your future, what it going to look like, what you are going to do after high school, who you are going to date and eventually marry, where will you work, and so on.

But there are also the questions for right now. Are you living in God’s will? How do I know what is right and wrong? Should I be doing what I am doing or date who I am dating? What does it look like to live for Jesus in our world?

Those are the questions I was asking at your age...maybe they have changed over the years… but likely not.

During this weekend we want to dig deep to understand what it means to live for God and follow His will in a world that is increasingly opposed to our faith.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to discern and embrace God’s desire for our lives as He has revealed in Scripture.

Really, taking what we have been studying the last several weeks and applying it to our lives.

We are going to dive into the story of Daniel, who, like us, lived in a cultural that resists and challenges us as we seek to live for Christ, according to His ways.

Through this retreat, we will explore how to stand firm in God’s will, trust His sovereign plan, and learn practical ways to live faithfully and boldly for Him, even when the world around us pushes back.

Our goal is to leave equipped to be distinct and faithful, influences for God’s kingdom in a world that desperately needs His truth.

Introducing Daniel

Daniel 1:1–7 CSB

1 In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it. 2 The Lord handed King Jehoiakim of Judah over to him, along with some of the vessels from the house of God. Nebuchadnezzar carried them to the land of Babylon, to the house of his god, and put the vessels in the treasury of his god. 3 The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility—4 young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom, knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the Chaldean language and literature. 5 The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank. They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to attend the king. 6 Among them, from the Judahites, were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 The chief eunuch gave them names; he gave the name Belteshazzar to Daniel, Shadrach to Hananiah, Meshach to Mishael, and Abednego to Azariah.

The book of Daniel tells the story of the prophet Daniel and his three friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, during the time of the exile from 2 Kings 24-25.

King Jehoiahim was Judah’s 19th king after David and he was, like many of those that he followed, a corrupt dude.

He didn’t lead the people to follow God and was not a good leader.

So after years of the kingdom wander further away from Him, God allowed the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar to destroy Jerusalem and bring most of the Kingdom into captivity in Babylon.

Daniel and his friends were some of the first to go.

They were chosen, as we are told in chapter 1, because they were young, good looking, physically fit, intellectual, teachable, and capable.

They were the best of the best among the young men of Jerusalem.

Nebuchadnezzar wanted them to be taught the Babylonia language, culture, and history.

He wanted them to become Babylonian.

So they were to be given the best food, best living arrangements, and best education.

And they were to be given new names

Daniel: “God is my judge” → Belteshazzar: “Baal protects the king”

Hananiah: “God is gracious” → Shadrach: “Under the Command of Aku (the moon god)”

Mishael: “There is none like God” → Meshach: “There is none like Aku (the moon god)”

Azariah: “God has helped me” → Abed-Nego: “The Servant of Nebo (the Babylonian god of wisdom)”

Imagine at 15 years old, after your whole world being destroyed, much of your family killed or imprisoned, and now you are being brought into a foreign land against your will.

Imagine also that you are treated like royalty when you get there.

How hard would it be to not give up on the God you worshipped, and not to sell out to this new culture.

If we fast forward 70-100 years, when the people were allowed to come back to Israel and rebuild, it is commonly believed that not even half came back.

Meaning most of those who were exiled to Babylon stayed there (or in Persia after Babylon fell) because they had built new lives there and have become apart of the culture.

When we draw comparisons between the Book of Daniel and our current world, we obviously haven’t been taken captive by a foreign nation and we aren’t necessarily being forced to do the things Daniel and his friends were.

But there are very real similarities in our current cultural moment as Daniels, and increasingly so as I will show in a few minutes.

But here is what I want to focus on in chapter 1 that will help set up the direction for the rest of our weekend.

Thinking about God’s Will

Daniel 1:8 CSB

8 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.

The ESV translation says Daniel “RESOVED” in his heart...

That verse really may be the most important verse in the whole book of Daniel because it reveals the reason Daniel lived the way he lived in Babylon.

It uncovers the motivation behind how Daniel and his friend made decisions and determined the values that would guide their lived in Babylon.

Daniel and his friend made a decision to live their lives according to God’s Will not the will of a king or their own will.

So that leads to a question: What does it mean to live IN God’s Will?

When we ask that question we are often thinking about God’s Will as some mystical, possibly hidden path that we are seek to find so that we can live a successful, happy, and comfortable life.

Kevin DeYoung, a pastor and author, wrote a book called “Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will”.

In it he talks about 3 categories of God’s will.

The one I just described DeYoung defines as God’s Will of “Direction”.

This is the idea that God has a specific “hidden will” or special directions for every individual decision we might make (like whom to marry, where to go to school, what job we should have, or where to live) that must be discovered through signs, feelings, or mystical guidance.

He argues, and I think rightfully so, is that this idea isn’t biblical.

Not to say God doesn’t guide us, doesn’t reveal things to us, and doesn’t desire for us to seek Him in our decision.

Rather it means that the concept that we have to go on a Dora the Explorer type mission to finds God’s will for our lives isn’t in the bible.

Instead, God’s will in the bible, DeYoung argues, falls into two categories

God’s Will of Decree -This is God’s eternal, unchangeable plan by which everything that happens comes to pass.

This is rooted in God’s attributes of sovereignty, omniscience, omnipotence, holiness, and truth, among other things.

Proverbs 19:21 CSB

21 Many plans are in a person’s heart, but the Lord’s decree will prevail.

Psalm 115:3 CSB

3 Our God is in heaven and does whatever he pleases.

Job 42:2 CSB

2 I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted.

We will talk about this more tomorrow. But understand that God has a plan, both for your life and for the world.

That is what we see Daniel and His friends “determining” in their hearts as they were brought into Babylon.

God’s Will of Desire- What God desires for how we should live—His commandments and moral instructions.

It is revealed in Scripture and calls us to live holy, Christlike lives.

God wants us to be sanctified and obey His Word.

We can know and follow this will by Scripture and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

This is rooted in His attributes of righteousness, holiness, truth, mercy, love, among others.

This is the source of Daniel and his friends determination to not defile themselves.

They knew God’s Word, believed God’s Word, Trusted God’s plan, and determined in their hearts to not go against His Will (as defined by scripture).

Here’s the thing, living “in” God’s will according to the bible is living according to the “WAY” God has called us to live and trusting that He is guiding, us, directing us, and providing for us along the way.

So for us to “live” means that we are choosing/determining to live in the way He has laid out for us.

Why Daniel is Important

Ok so why is Daniel such a great example?

Because Daniel, a young man, thrown into a world that was very much in opposition to his faith and God’s decreed will for his life, is much what you guys are facing in the world you are growing up in and the world you will be entering as you graduate and move on into life.

Let me flesh this out with something I have been reading recently.

Three World from Aaron Renn

Aaron Renn is an author and Christian cultural commentator who wrote a book a few years ago that has sparked a lot of conversation and is a helpful way to explain how the cultural view of Christianity has changed over the past 50-70 years.

Renn classifies the history of the church’s relationship with society into three \ “worlds”

Positive World (1964–1994)

Society viewed Christianity positively, as a marker of respectability and good

Public identification as a Christian helped social standing; Christianity and its moral values were privileged in the broader culture.

Being connected to a church would have positive influence in your life for the most part.

Politicians, business people, and so on would join churches to benefit their agendas.

The social costs, or the negative stigmas, were to being openly non-Christian or violating Christian norms.

This is the world our parents grew up in for the most part.

Neutral World (1994–2014)

Society became neutral toward Christianity; being Christian had neither positive nor negative cultural impact.

Christianity was tolerated as one lifestyle or belief system among many.

It was possible to be openly Christian without major social consequences, but also without special respect or advantage.

Churches often focused on being “seeker sensitive” or culturally engaging to attract people.

This is the world I have grown up in for the most part.

Negative World (2014–present)

The broader culture now views Christianity negatively, especially traditional Christian beliefs around issues of sexuality and morality.​

Public adherence to Christian norms can bring social penalties, alienation, or opposition.

Christianity is often perceived as regressive, and there is increasing hostility in cultural, institutional, and even legal spheres.

Renn argues that Christians now need to adapt to minority status, strengthen community life, and rethink how to witness and operate “in exile” as cultural outsiders.

This is the world YOU are currently growing up in.

It is increasingly polarizing and increasingly more costly to be a Christian in publi

The culture Daniel was thrust into—Babylon—was one of opposition to God's ways.

It was deeply hostile to the values, identity, and faith that Daniel and his friends held dear.

Today, our culture is increasingly like Babylon, where the values of the world often clash with the kingdom of God.

For you as teenagers, this means the question is sharper than ever:

Who will you serve? Whose will—the world’s shifting values or God’s unchanging Word—will shape your choices and define your life?

Just like Daniel had to decide whether to bow to the culture or stand for God’s will, so you must intentionally determine whose authority will rule your heart.

In a world that pressures you to conform, standing firm in God’s will is both a courageous and crucial decision that will impact your future and witness for Christ.

The Promise of Standing

The road for Daniel and his friends was not easy, actually we will see it was FAR from easy, but it was blessed by God.

Daniel 1:9–21 CSB

9 God had granted Daniel kindness and compassion from the chief eunuch, 10 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.” 11 So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief eunuch had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 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.” 14 He agreed with them about this and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king’s food. 16 So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables. 17 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. 18 At the end of the time that the king had said to present them, the chief eunuch presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 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. 20 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. 21 Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Daniel choosing to eat a diet of veggies and water wasn’t for his waistline, it was to avoid eating the food offered to false god’s

And the question from the king’s official was if them eating in such a way would have negative results.

The world will often question whether the ways of God will show themselves to be good or a waste of time.

Will following God’s way ultimately lead to life and good, or will it just prove to be a fad diet that has not last benefit?

Listen, this is not promise that everything in life will be easy and successful, but God absolutely does promise to bless us when we choose to live our lives according to His will and His way.

He allowed Daniel and his friends to grow and look better than any of the others who were still eating the Babylonian diet.

and Daniel 1:17 “17 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.”

God allowed Daniel and his friends to stand out as the stood up for Him.

Be a Cholate Chip

My wife makes really good chocolate Chip cookies.

Imagine making chocolate chip cookies. When you mix the flour, eggs, sugar, brown sugar, and baking soda, those ingredients blend together so completely they’re no longer distinguishable.

But then, you add the chocolate chips—distinct, recognizable, and separate from the dough. Even after baking, the chocolate chips remain separate, adding flavor and texture.

Like the chocolate chips, we need to be fully in the world but not fully of the world.

We are part of the culture, but we don’t lose our distinctiveness or compromise our convictions.

Daniel was in Babylonian culture—learning their language, wearing their clothes—but he refused to fully integrate by defiling himself with what God forbade.

He remained a “chocolate chip”—distinct and faithful, making the culture taste better because of his faithfulness.

Determine today to be a chocolate chip!