Grace and Truth

Daniel was put in the prophecy section so we would understand that history was also prophecy. These are just great stories… it’s a playbook for how you will need to live when the prophecies happen. Daniel lived in a country that turned from God and they paid the price.

Any time you you turn away from God, you will pay the price.

America is standing at the threshold of falling away. We are looking at whether we as a nation will follow the Lord. If we don’t turn back to God, we will pay the price. We are paying the price now.

Daniel 1:1–6 NLT

1 During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 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. 3 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. 4 “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.” 5 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. 6 Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah.

Israel fell away from God and was conquered and exiled.

If we don’t understand the time we live in, the culture will have the same effect on us it did on many of the exiled Jews. Culture wants to influence us. And we won’t even notice.

The devil is using culture to mess with us.

Here is where it starts...

Daniel 1:7 NIV

7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

Names show ownership.

Are you believing what culture says about you, or what God says about you?

Culture has an agenda

1. Change our identity.

Bullies in school will re-identify you. They will cause you to wear a mask so you can exist in the culture. A friend of mine in HS, was a jokester, but he was that to cover up his insecurities.

ILL - me hating speech class and now for the last 28 years speaking several times per week to hundreds of people.

The devil will try to rewrite your identity. He will try to keep you from doing what God wants you to do.

Look at the names…

Daniel - God is my judge

Belteshazzar - Lady protect the king.

They gave him a girl name. In every pagan culture, there has been gender confusion. The devil is not just trying to make you immoral, but to cause you to totally forget who you are.

Hananiah - Yahweh has been gracious

Shadrach - I am fearful of God.

Devil is not just trying to mess up your relationships, but he is trying to ruin your relationship with God.

Mishael - Who is what God is?

Meshach - I am despised, contemptible & humiliated.

He went from Confidence to coward.

Azariah - Yahweh has helped

Abednego - Servant of Nebo

You will be a slave of the culture.

Give God a chance to out the right label on you and in you

When culture shifts, we must know who we are.

Daniel 1:8 NLT

8 But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods.

Daniel determined not to defile himself by compromising his standards.

He asked permission to not do what the culture required.

2. Compromise our standards.

Many of you feel the pressure of culture coming at you. We are pushed to move the plumbline of God’s word to where morality is no absolute.

God’s standard is for you and not against you.

When culture shifts, we must reaffirm our convictions.

We will look at come core values from which we cannot be moved.

Daniel 1:9–10 NLT

9 Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel. 10 But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.”

Daniel 1:11–14 NLT

11 Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 12 “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. 13 “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.” 14 The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.

Test us, and see if God’s way doesn’t work out better. There are many test of faith through out this book.

Our culture is creating a confrontation that each of us must be prepared for if we want to follow the Lord. We have to be prepared for the tests that will come our way.

Culture will always

3. Create a confrontation.

Ill of Chris at LSU when Mohammed hit him twice… turn the other cheek.

We have to be prepared for the tests of faith that the culture will bring to us.

When culture shifts, we must respond the right way.

Church is not responding the right way.

Two extremes -

Dogmatic - I’m right and you are going to hell. I know what I know and you are wrong… You imight be right, but it’s not effective. God didn’t call us to be right.

Feeling - they don’t need to change. God loves everyone so he won’t send anyone to hell. So now we have a generation of Christians setting the Bible aside.

There needs to be a Balance between the two. There is truth and rightness on both sides and we have to find the balance between the two.

Daniel had an uncanny way to balance his faith with his culture. So did Jesus.

Jesus spent time with sinners but never compromised.

John 1:14 NIV

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Truth: God’s standard

John 17:17 NIV

17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

We love everyone. Everyone is welcome. But we believe the Bible is truth and God loves eveyone, but he loves you enough not to leave you where you are.

Our approach might be different, but our message is the same one… the Gospel.

Grace: God’s Favor

Ephesians 2:8–9 NLT

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

We want to be geared to the times… but anchored to the rock.

51% gospel - your life is just good enough that your good outweighs your bad.

Bible says you have to be 100% good.

Without Truth, we are corrupt.

Without Grace, we are all condemned.

Without truth, we become worldly.

Without Grace, we become judgmental.

Truth without Grace is mean.

Grace without Truth is meaningless.

Truth & Grace are medicine to our lives.

New Orleans needs more places that will give Grace and Truth - together

Grace invites us to be free.

Truth sets us free.

John 8:1–11 NLT

1 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. 4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” 6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. 9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” 11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

Grace or Truth?

You don’t don’t have to choose, you can have both.

Oldest to youngest… might have been writing names…

Jesus gave her Grace and Truth at the same time...

Hold high God’s Truth

Freely give God’s Grace

Prayer

Response -

God help us to navigate our culture the way Daniel did, the way Jesus did with Grace and Truth.

You know if you stand condemned, and you are carrying it yourself. We all stand condemned, it;s just some of us are not carrying it anymore, we gave it to Jesus. Pray Salvation Prayer. Baptism is public profession.

“God thank you for sending Jesus to pay for my sin. Today I receive forgiveness and grace,. Today I open my life to your truth, your standards. Change me.”