Untitled Sermon (5)

Daniel 1:1–5 NIV84

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god. 3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility— 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. 5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.

I have enjoyed the series we have been working through this month: Survivors. When we talk about being a survivor we are talking about more than just barely hanging on through a difficult situation.

"No in all of these things we are more than conquerors, through Him who loved us."

These are difficult days in our world, but these are great days of opportunity for God to show up and to display His Goodness, Glory & Grace.

Today we will focus on survivors of Babylon, heroes of faith whose stories are told in the book of Daniel. The scene is set, the Babylonians under King Neb. conquered Judah and carried away the nobles into captivity.

Daniel and his friends were living in Babylon. Babylon is synonymous with an oppressive, decadent, anti-God society. The people of God were taken into captivity because they had rejected their God and turned to idolatry.

How would these people lie in such a difficult time? There were great pressure to conform to the new culture. Surely they had questions about God They surely were mourning and repentant, and I think they probably had to fight off bitterness and resentment.

In the first part of the book of Daniel we see four stories how to Survive in Babylon.

(BS:D): Jehoiakim, king of Judah (Eliakim) ascended to the throne in Judea (the southern kingdom) after the defeat and death of Josiah at Megiddo in 609 b.c. (; ; ). He ruled from 609–597 b.c. His son, Jehoiachin, reigned for only three months before being taken captive to Babylon along with 10,000 other Judean citizens (including Ezekiel). Zedekiah became the last king of Judah and ruled from 597–586 b.c. He defied Babylonian authority, provoking Nebuchadnezzar’s seige of Jerusalem on January 15, 588 b.c. Zedekiah was captured, forced to watch the execution of his sons, and then blinded. The city was captured on July 18, 586 and the final destruction began on August 14, 586 b.c.

Episode 1

Daniel is faced with a delima, should he conform to the society or should he maintain his unique calling to live differently?

This is much more than a question of health and dietary concerns.

The "Daniel Diet" was not the kosher diet prescribed in the law of Moses. Daniel's objection was he could not rely on the delacies of Babylon. He must rely on the provision and favor of Yahweh.

Daniel 1:8–10 NIV84

8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”

Daniel 1:8–21 NIV84

8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.” 11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. 17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. 18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. 21 And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Daniel and the other 3 refused to assimilate into the culture even though it offered “choice food.” They wanted to continue to be a distinct people, set aspart, holy.

They trusted God to care for them in a way that is better than what Babylon’s finest offered.

“We should also take note of Daniel’s spirit and tone in declining the king’s food. A person of principle and deep moral conviction who steadfastly refuses to compromise need not be rude, discourteous, or abandon common sense to make a point. One can be holy without being obnoxious.” (Storms)

Daniel 1:8–10 (BS:D): perhaps the best explanation is that “pagan food and drink simply epitomize the pagan uncleanness associated with exile (cf. Isa. 52:11). This reflects the fact that what we eat and drink, like what we wear and how we speak, generally constitutes an outward expression of our self-identity and commitments.… Daniel’s abstinence thus symbolizes his avoiding assimilation” (Goldingay, 19). In other words, eating the palace provisions, at least in Daniel’s way of thinking, entailed a compromise of faith that getting a new name, learning Babylonian culture, and serving in a Babylonian court did not. We must remember that Israel’s own food laws and dietary restrictions were designed, in part, to highlight and preserve their distinctiveness as God’s people over against all other peoples.

Daniel 1:18–21 (BS:D): As Goldingay points out, “we are reassured that the Daniel who lives at court, stands by the side of the king, and serves the empire, is one who has taken his stand and kept himself pure; and we are challenged about our own willingness to accept an involvement in the world, but to recognize that there are points at which we have to draw a line. We are called to be citizens of two worlds, neither surrendering one’s citizenship by assimilation nor surrendering the other by forming a ghetto” (25).

Daniel 1:17–21 (NIV84): 17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

Survivors are different / distinct holy. Your destiny is found in your distinction

As the people of God we should not get distracted by inward arguments about meaningless issues.

We should live in a way that is different from the world.

Notice Daniel did learn the ways of Babylon. He served in the King’s administration with humility, but he served uniquely.

Maybe the distinctions of the believer are:

Humility

Kindness

Faith ~Trust in God

So Daniel and the others trusted God and stood on their convictions as a result they stood as an example.

I believe in this day God is raising a generation like these four in Daniel. I believe this prophetic- generation will stand out, speaking the will and word of the Lord as they live uniquely set apart to God!

The key was they lived their convictions. The life style they lived was the message they spoke.

Daniel 2:1 NIV84

1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep.

This is scene 2

Scene 2 Neb's Dreams.

In this scene Daniel and the other noble's are almost put to death because Neb. had a dream that no one could interpret. There were great challenges after all Neb. didn't want to share the contents of the dream.

The king ordered that all of the noble 1 wise men should be put to death. Avoid under order of the Neb. shows up at Daniel's door to carry out the order. Imagine Daniel’s surprise.

Daniel asks for thine to be able to interpret the dream and he and his friends pray for Revelation from God and God tells Daniel the dream and its interpretation.

Why was Neb. so frustrated?

He was acting irrationally, but why?

He is sure God is trying to speak to him about things that are eternally important. And there is no one who can help to hear from God.

I believe there is great frustration in our world today because people desperately need to hear clearly what God is saying. And thy rage and lash out because the so called wise men / nobles spiritual advisers do not hear from God. Instead they have become wise in their own eyes and are busy espousing their own truths and theories. All the while God is breaking into the dreams of Neb. because God wants to speak to people.

When God speaks we find our place and purpose in this world.

So Daniel prays and God reveals the dream to and Daniel brings the message to Neb.

Look at the heart, humility and integrity of Daniel as he comes to the king. Daniel does not try to take credit for being able to hear from God. He says

"There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries''

The prophetic generation that rises in Babylon is not focused on their wisdom / talent) giftedness, they are focused on the greatness and goodness of God.

The generation of prophets that rises is not focused on fame or notoriety. The the focus is on declaring God's word!

--

Daniel tells the dream and it’s interpretation to Neb. It would be significant for centuries to come. Kings and kingdoms will rise and fall Bat. the Ward of the Lord will remain forever?

-

Neb would get focused on where he and Babylon was in the vision, and he probably would miss out on the most important part of the Dream.

The Rock Jesus Christ will bring about the destruction of all of the Kingdom of this world- The Kingdom of God would be established.

And this Kingdom will never end!

So many tines we get focussed on trying to interpret the little aspects of the vision and miss the point.

Daniel 3:1 NIV84

1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

Scene 3.

In this well brown story we see that to survive in Babylon, and even more to thrive the people of God must refuse to bow to the idols of the world.

Perhaps this is the biggiest challenge of the generations-that is emerging. We line in a culture that makes fame over

character. Our nation and media is obsessed with politics and neglects the call for statesmanship and leadership

built on character and concern for others. Our economy is built on the values of consumerism that is focused on individual desire

rather that which is virtuous. And the question facing our generation is, will we bow to these pressures or will we stand

in divine defiance and say we put our trust in God.

Neb’s preoccupation and pride causes him to build a giant statue in his likeness and to decree everyone must bow to the statue.

Did you catch this. God gives Neb a dream revealing the purpose and plan of God for generations to come, and Neb warps it into the desire to build a statue for himself.

Now everyone was to bow to the idol but not the three from Judah. They refused.

Notice the rage of the King?

People of God, do not be surprised when the kings of this world rage when you refuse to bow to the idols they have created.

Do not be surprised at the tantrums of the ungodly-

They did not bow. The simply stood up for God.

It is not hateful for the people of God to refuse to worship at the idols of carnality.

The three stood faithful to their God.

Their holy defiance was not filled with vitriolic anger. They simply stood up for their convictions and let the consequences of their actions be determined by the true ruler.

God would deliver then through the fire.

Notice the 4th man in the fire.

When you walk through the fire. ' 'I will be there."

Notice the fire that burned set them free for the bonds of the king.

Notice they weren't in a hurry to escape the furnace. They were

intent on seeing God's purpose and his power revealed to King Neb

No other god can save!

-

Daniel 6:1–5 NIV84

1 It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, 2 with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. 3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. 5 Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

Scene 4

Notice the character of Daniel on display.

Also take note Daniel was a governmental official. Think about that for a moment, a godly man was working in an ungodly government. And the integrity of Daniel shined in Babylon.

There was nothing they could find to charge Daniel with, no corruption, no negligence.

The one thing they took notice of was his commitment to God.

The most notable pattern of Behavior in Daniel's life was his prayer life. The enemy attacked Daniel's prayer life.

This is the case for the people of God in every generation. The enemy will always attack your prayer life.

What did Daniel do?

He prayed anyway.

He prayed and He trusted God.

What happened?

He was thrown into the lions den.

And God shot the mouths of the lies.

And the king saw God act on behalf of Daniel.

And the enemies of Daniel were fed to the same lions and devoured.

The evil meant for the righteous devoured the accusers.

God was glorified.

The King of Babylon Testified of the Greatness and Goodness of Yahweh