Sermon Tone Analysis

The first six chapters of Daniel teaches us how live in a in the midst of Babylon.

The book of Daniel provides a godly pattern for living in an evil age.

The prophet (1-6) and the prophecies (7-12), the man (1-6) and his message (7-12).

b. 7 through 12 deals with his message:

i. 1 through 6, the prophet,

ii.

7 through 12, the prophecies.

Two Major themes

Sovereignty of God - Most High God (13 x’s) – God determines the course of nations and establishes governments

o The Lord gave - Adonay (Septuagint = kurios [word study]) is the name for God indicating that He is the supreme Master.

· How to live in Babylon and how to do that successfully

o It tells me how to live for God in this evil age and it tells me what it will be like when I live with God in that golden age.

DL Moody tells the Story of - a young man that came up with a little handful of men to attack a king who had a great army of 3,000 men.

The young man had only 500 men and the king sent a messenger to the young man saying, that he need not fear to surrender for he would treat him mercifully.

The young man called up one of his soldiers and said, take this dagger and drive it to your heart.

And the soldier took the dagger and drove it to his heart.

And calling up another, he said to him, leap off that cliff and the man leaped off the cliff.

The young man then said to the messenger, now go back and tell your king I've got 500 more like these.

We will die, but we will never surrender.

And tell your king another thing, that I will have him chained with my dog inside half an hour.

And when the king heard that, he didn't dare to meet them and his army fled before them like chaff before the wind and within 24 hours, he had the king chained with his dog."

The young man had only 500 men and the king sent a messenger to the young man saying, that he need not fear to surrender for he would treat him mercifully.

The young man called up one of his soldiers and said, take this dagger and drive it to your heart.

And the soldier took the dagger and drove it to his heart.

And calling up another, he said to him, leap off that cliff and the man leaped off the cliff.

The young man then said to the messenger, now go back and tell your king I've got 500 more like these.

We will die, but we will never surrender.

And tell your king another thing, that I will have him chained with my dog inside half an hour.

And when the king heard that, he didn't dare to meet them and his army fled before them like chaff before the wind and within 24 hours, he had the king chained with his dog."

WE MUST ANTICIPATE ATTACKS

§ The word Defile means that this was a religious conviction

Purposed in his heart = pull together: This is the idea Daniel drew from something inside of him and made a Stand

Peter is telling us that our salvation provides for us everything we need to rise above the Culture and live a life of godliness.

We are not adding to our faith from anything outside of God.

We are simply drawing upon what God has already placed into by bank account.

An all-consuming purpose to live for the glory of God will enable us to meet the spiritual tests of life.

§ Peter is telling us that when we get saved God has given to us everything we need to rise above the Culture and live a life of godliness.

§ We are not adding to our faith from anything outside of God.

We are simply drawing upon what God has already placed into by bank account.

§ An all-consuming purpose to live for the glory of God will enable us to meet spiritual tests of life.

Isolation from God’s influence.

(1:1-2)

They were isolated from the influences that would mold their lives and characters in the ways of the Lord.

In Babylon they were separated from the regular public worship of God, from the teaching of the Word of God, from the fellowship and wisdom of the people of God, and from the daily illustration of what it meant to be a citizen of Jerusalem.

Separated from the furnace of Godliness, the king anticipated that the last dying embers of true faithfulness to the Lord would die out.

Indoctrination with the worldly ways of thinking (1:4)

Indoctrinate - To imbue with a usually partisan or sectarian opinion, point of view, or principle.

To cause to accept a set of beliefs uncritically through repeated instruction.

The aim of this course in Chaldean language and literature, however, was not merely academic.

It was to retrain their minds to think as Babylonians rather than Israelites.

In this, as in so many other things, our Lord’s warning is profoundly true: The children of this world often have more “horse sense” than the children of God.

We too often ask the more superficial questions, such as “Are there any embarrassing phrases used by this author?”

The deeper issue we need to recognize is that the ungodly think differently from the Godly.

This is evident not simply in the language used, but in the whole way of looking at life; the ungodly view life without God.

God is not in their thoughts, and there is no fear of God before their eyes.

Their writing and teaching convey a completely different worldview from that of Scripture.

It was this ungodly worldview with which the children of Jerusalem were being indoctrinated.

Karl Marx declared – give me the poets and the musicians and I will take the nation.

Compromise with the riches of this world.

(1:5)

Daniel perceived (correctly) in this food allotment was an effort to seduce him into the lifestyle of a Babylonian through the enjoyment of pleasures he had never before known.

High living very easily masters the senses and blunts the sharp-edged commitment of young Christians.

The good life that Daniel was offered was intended by the king to wean him away from the hard life to which God had called him.

It would encourage him to focus on himself and on a life of enjoyment.

Inner conviction can overcome any outer pressure to compromise.

In 1904 William Borden graduated from a Chicago high school.

As heir to the Borden Dairy estate, he was already a millionaire.

For his high school graduation present, his parents gave him a trip around the world.

As the young man traveled through Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, he felt a growing burden for the world's hurting people.

Finally, Borden wrote home to say, "I'm going to give my life to prepare for the mission field."

At the same time, he wrote two words in the back of his Bible: "No reserves."

Indeed, Borden held nothing back.

During his college years at Yale University, he became a pillar in the Christian community.

One entry in his personal journal that defined the source of his spiritual strength simply said: "Say no to self and yes to Jesus every time."

During his first semester at Yale, Borden started a small prayer group that would transform campus life.

This little group gave birth to a movement that spread across the campus.

By the end of his first year, 150 freshmen were meeting for weekly Bible study and prayer.

By the time Bill Borden was a senior, 1,000 of Yale's 1,300 students were meeting in such groups.

Borden also strategized with his fellow Christians to make sure every student on campus heard the gospel, and he was often seen ministering to the downtrodden in the streets of New Haven.

But his real passion was missions.

Once he narrowed his missionary call to the Kansu people in China, Borden never wavered.

Upon graduation from Yale, Borden wrote two more words in the back of his Bible: "No retreats."

In keeping with that commitment, Borden turned down several high-paying job offers, enrolling in seminary instead.

After graduating, he immediately went to Egypt to learn Arabic because of his intent to work with Muslims in China.

While in Egypt, he contracted spinal meningitis.

Within a month, 25-year-old William Borden was dead.

Prior to his death, Borden had written two more words in his Bible.

Underneath the words "No reserves" and "No retreats," he had written: "No regrets."

God-honoring convictions yield God-given rewards.

D.L. Moody: “The world is still looking for somebody who loves nothing but God, or no one but God, and hates nothing, but sin.”

One of the better stories of "no compromise" is the inspiring story of Scottish track star Eric Liddell he who had trained for the 100 meter race in the 1924 Olympics only to find out that it was to be run on Sunday.

Although he was favored to win, his conviction to honor the Lord's day led him to withdraw a decision which resulted in considerable criticism from those who had formerly praised him.

As providence would have it, a runner dropped out of the 400 meter race (a race he had not trained for) and Eric offered to fill the slot of this longer race which was scheduled for a weekday.

And to everyone's surprise, Eric Liddell ran and won the gold medal in 1924.

God honored his non-compromising spirit.

Eric eventually died in a war camp in 1945 in China where he had gone to serve as missionary, a man who like Daniel remained uncompromising to the end.

T

Nothing between my soul and my Savior,

Naught of this world’s delusive dream;

I have renounced all sinful pleasure;

Jesus is mine, there’s nothing between.

Habits of life, though harmless they seem,