Blessings of Faith

Prosperity preaching has reached an all time high.

Several mega churches...and I use the word church very very loosely...have grown in size because they offer something outside of the bible but use the Lord’s name to cover their disceptation.

The bible does give us examples of blessings for the faithful, but we see blessings in a western viewpoint.

We see blessings in the materialistic things.

Boys and their toys!

Keeping up with the Joneses!

Happiness comes from the stuff I have.

Materialism tricks us into believing that life is measured by what we own.

Our Daily Bread once printed an article that said...

When a person loves earthly things so much that he can't get along without them, he opens himself to much suffering, both physical and mental. Some people, for example, have taken foolish risks to keep their riches intact. They have died rushing into burning houses or were killed because they stubbornly resisted armed robbers. Apparently they felt that without their material possessions life would not be worthwhile.

Others, when forced to part with their wealth, have been thrown into agonizing despair, even to the point of suicide. In 1975, six armed gunmen broke into the deposit boxes in a London bank and stole valuables worth more than $7 million. One lady, whose jewelry was appraised at $500,000, wailed, "Everything I had was in there. My whole life was in that box." What a sad commentary on her values!

Today, I would like to look at the blessings for the faithful, through the eyes of Daniel.

This is a very hard message to preach, because I do not want to give the wrong idea. I do not want you to think that I am going into prosperity preaching, but I also do not want to neglect the scriptures that are before us today.

So bare with me as we chow down on these verses.

And I will point out something at the very end that we miss when we look at our own blessings.

I would like to ask my beautiful wife to open us up in prayer.

The Blessing of Life

I said last week that Daniel and his friend had the courage at the ripe old age of 12 to stand up to their captors. They asked the chief eunich to allow them to eat what was inline with their Jewish customs.

Let’s look at our first verses for today.

Daniel 1:14–16 CSB

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.

We call this today the Daniel fast.

The Daniel Fast is a 10-21-day partial fast based on these biblical scriptures that eliminates meat, dairy, added sugars, caffeine, and processed foods, focusing instead on whole fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

Physical Health Benefits

Heart Health: Lowers total cholesterol, LDL ("bad") cholesterol, and blood pressure.

Reduced Inflammation: Decreases oxidative stress and markers of chronic inflammation in the body.

Better Blood Sugar: Enhances insulin sensitivity and helps regulate blood glucose levels.

Weight Management: Promotes natural weight loss by cutting out calorie-dense processed foods and added sugars.

Clean Nutrition: Increases daily intake of fiber, vitamins, and powerful antioxidants.

Spiritual and Mental Benefits

Spiritual Clarity: Deepens focus on prayer, meditation, and study of scripture.

Mindfulness: Breaks daily dependencies on comfort items like sugar, caffeine, and social media.

Self-Discipline: Strengthens personal resolve and emotional self-control through shared community fasting.

I don’t know about any of you, but all of these things are great right.

This fast will kick you square in the teeth.

The benefits are truly a blessing, but I want to do an experiment right now.

I want everyone right now and put your hand on your heart...fell that...that is a blessing.

Everything that has a heartbeat has a purpose.

Psalm 139:13–14 CSB

For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well.

Take your hand and put it to your mouth...breathe out...smell that...I meant feel that...or did I...that warm stinky breath...that is a blessing.

If you have breath in your body, your main purpose is this.

Psalm 150:6 CSB

Let everything that breathes praise the Lord. Hallelujah!

Here are two things, two things that are the basis of life and both are a blessing and both are made to worship our Lord.

Unfortunately, we live in a sinful world and because of that sin that happened all the way back in Genesis, we suffer today with sicknesses.

With failing bodies.

Personally, everyday I get mad that my mom gave me rice krispies as a kid, cause now everytime I move, I hear the snap, krackle and pop.

I also know that God gave me life for a purpose. That this is the temple that the Holy Spirit dwells, so I try my best to make it what He desires and praise Him everyday for the blessing of having one more day to sing out to Him.

The blessing of life never means we will not suffer physically, the blessing of life is having the breath to give Him praise through it all. To have one more day to live for Him, and when we do that, we truly have a life that is blessed.

There is another blessing that Daniel and his friends got because of their faithfulness

The Blessing of Revelation

Let me give you the definition of revelation.

Biblically, revelation means God making Himself, His plans, and His truth known to people. The original Greek word is apokalupsis, which means an uncovering or an unveiling of something hidden..

Let’s look at our verses to get a better understanding

Daniel 1:17–20 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.

One of the greatest blessings God gives to us is the ability to gain knowledge from Him.

Someone once asked me how long have I been reading the bible. I have been reading the bible since I turned 27.

He then asked me if I knew the bible back and forth...absolutely not.

Everytime I read the bible, I gain new revelation that can only come from the Lord.

Revelation is a divine activity: not, therefore, a human achievement. Revelation is not the same thing as discovery or the dawning of insight, or the emerging of a bright idea. Revelation does not mean man fording God, but God finding man, God sharing his secrets with us, God showing us himself.

J. I. Packer

The greatest thrill I get from teaching the bible and sharing what God has revealed to me, is seeing someone get the revelation. Not because I am such a great teacher, but because the Lord gave them understanding.

Ask any teacher, the reason they got into teaching in the first place is seeing a kid who is struggling get “it” and that light bulb goes off. The excitement they get.

The blessing of revelation is sharing that revelation.

If you are faithful in searching and studying, revelation is there for you.

The Picture: Imagine a traveler walking on a rocky coast during a heavy morning fog. Shapes look twisted and menacing; a distant tree trunk looks like a monster, and a mound of dirt looks like a cliff edge. The traveler is frozen in fear, unsure where to step. Then, the sun rises over the horizon. The mist rolls away, and in a single moment, the landscape is flooded with bright day. The terrifying shapes vanish, and the correct path becomes obvious

our Human philosophy and nature offer only a thought of what is there. We guess at God's character through the fog of our pain and confusion. Divine revelation is the sunrise. It does not change the landscape; it simply illuminates what has been true all along—that Christ holds ultimate victory and dominion.

The blessing of life and revealed understanding...there was one more blessing

The Blessing of Relationships

Let’s do another experiment, if you are sitting next to someone, reach up and touch them on the shoulder.

That is a blessing. The ability to surround yourself with people who love and believe as you do is truly a blessing.

Daniel was surrounded on all sides by the evils of his captors, but yet he had his friends who were there with him.

Daniel 1:19–21 CSB

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.

Relationships are very hard to come by.

I mean true relationships. Men and women who have the same beliefs and are not there to judge you, but are there to help and correct you if needed.

Proverbs 17:17 CSB

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a difficult time.

A true relationship has the ability to tell you...come on I got you and with the same breath tell you that you are an idiot.

We look at our relationships and want yes people...yes it’s ok that your an idiot. Yes none of the stuff happening to you is your fault.

I have lost many of friends because I would not take their side. I have also gained many of brothers, because they were man enough to say I was wrong and take it when I said they were wrong.

Now I mentioned at the beginning that we miss something when we look at our own blessings.

What is the one thing that God did not do for Daniel and his friends?

He did not remove them from their captivity.

He did not change their circumstances, He changed their perspective.

He did not remove the bad food, He gave them the desire to not fall into temptation.

He did not put the in the temple of the Lord to give revelation, He place them in the throne room of the enemy.

He did not give Daniel friends, He gave him brothers in a time of difficulty.

Those four young men knew that even in the times that looked bleakest, God’s blessings was still there.

I am sure that they wanted the blessing of freedom and being home, but God had other plans...which He will reveal to us as we continue in this series.