Never Settle for Less

Introduction

Daniel 1:1–21 NKJV

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god. Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king. Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king.” So Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.” So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days. And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies. Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Now at the end of the days, when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they served before the king. And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. Thus Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus.

The three other wise men

So here are Daniel, Shadrach, Meschach and Abed-Nego. They are chosen because they are everything that the world valued. They were young, good-looking, smart and overall go-fetters. They were the homecoming kings of their day. The starting quarterback- they were the ones voted most likely to succeed.

As a reward for being so genetically gifted, they were chosen to serve the king. They were to be fed the choice delicacies of the king. In short, they were being offered everything that the world had to offer because they were they type of people that the world values.

Make no mistake, the world is looking for a certain type of person. They are looking for a person that fits the mold. Look the right way, do the right things, value the same things. The world promises to reward you for becoming who it wants you to be. It is tempting to sit at the king’s table and partake of the choice foods. It is tempting to embrace what the world has to offer. I mean, let’s be honest- the American dream-- What is it really? It is fame and fortune! All you have to do is look at YouTube. Doesn’t matter how you obtain that fame—if you have it well man… you’re set! What have the hottest shows been? American Idol, Jersey Shore, Real Wives of …. (you fill in the city). It’s all about getting your fifteen minutes of fame. We let movie stars lecture us on our politics why? Because they have some keen insight? No… just because they are attractive and famous. Honestly, there is no other reason.

Are we wise?

When we make decisions in our day to day life, one of the questions we have to honestly ask ourselves is how will people see me if I…? Or what will people thing about….? It’s the thing that often keeps us from completely selling out to God. And to be completely frank, sometimes it’s not because we fear them rather because we think that in order to have any hope of making it, we have to fit in. We have to embrace the values of whatever company we work at in order to get the promotions. We have to embrace the values of those around us in order to be respected. That’s exactly the dilemma that most of us find ourselves in. Guys, do you treat your ladies differently when the guys are watching than you do when it’s just the two of you? And ladies, do you talk to your husband differently when your mom, or girlfriends are around?

Now let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Do we hide our Christianity when we are around our non-Christian friends so that we don’t make them uncomfortable? I’m not talking about obnoxiously shouting out our glory hallelujahs in their face, and speaking “Christianese” to the point they scream for mercy… I’m talking about taking principled stands because of who God is. Today I want to give you some keys to standing as people of conviction—with a full understanding that with God, we never trade for less.

The first thing that we take from this story in verse eight is that “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank.”

Keys to Conviction

We must draw the line that we will not cross. Daniel had no choice about where he had to serve. He didn’t have a choice who his boss would be, or what he was going to learn, but he did have a line he would not cross.

Purpose not to defile yourself.

The first key to standing with conviction is that we need to purpose in our heart that we will not defile ourselves with all the world has to offer. Daniel would not consume the delicacies of the world. So it is with us. We must be very careful about what we consume. What we take in to our lives will be what comes out. What do you value? What is it that you invest your heart in? I have a clue, if you find out where you invest your time and money, then you know what is of value to you.

Matthew 6:21–24 NKJV

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

Let’s look closely at this. Where your money is there your heart is also- we hear that preached again and again, but there is another key there. “The lamp of the body is the eye.” What does that mean? What is the purpose of a lamp? Right! Its purpose is to light the way. But the eye does not produce light—it collects it. So then, we can make the conclusion that what we collect through our eyes or consume will be what fills us up. If the eye is good it says, our whole body will be full of light. What are you allowing to go into your eyes? If on the other hand we consume bad things we are full of darkness! But are we sure Jesus is talking about what we consume? Are we sure He’s still talking about where our money is? Well look at the next part- No one can serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and Mammon! Who was Mammon? Mammon is a Syriac word, that signifies gain; so that whatever in this world is, or is accounted by us to be gain, is mammon. Whatever is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, is mammon.

So, then we know what the King’s delicacies are. In this world… specifically in this country our consumption is Mammon. Always wanting more is Mammon. Getting ahead is Mammon, and we often sacrifice principle to attain what the world has for us.

So what should be in our hearts? What is it that we should be seeking?

Philippians 3:7–11 NKJV

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Look closely at the wording here. “The things that were gain to me” I count as loss compared to the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. Paul was willing to lose everything… to consider it rubbish in order to gain Christ. What a stark difference! But look at what else he gains—what we gain. We gain the righteousness that is from God, that we may know Him AND THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION! We obtain resurrection from the dead!!!! If that doesn’t get you excited then you need to check your pulse because you might already be dead and didn’t know it.

Church, let’s think about this for a second. Daniel purposed in his heart that he was not going to seek after the things of the world. Why? Because Daniel knew that what he was gaining was much more than what the World was offering him. You’ve all heard the saying, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” During my years as a medic I can tell you this. He who dies with the most toys still dies, and I’ve never seen where the abundance of toys made a lick of difference in the end. In fact I’ve seen men die in some very expensive toys. So what does that leave? Resurrection power! If you know that you’re not trading for less, it’s much easier to stake your claim. If you know you’re not trading for less it’s much easier to purpose in your heart that you will not defile yourself with what the world has.

Be gracious in your convictions.

But pastor that brings another problem; what are we supposed to do about the predicament that we have when dealing with the world? If you are in sales or have to interact with customers on a daily basis, it’s very easy to get caught up with what they do. You want to connect with them as much as possible—you want to be acceptable to them. But look at what happens next with Daniel. The second key is that he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Is it really that easy? Well there’s more. It says God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. So what does that have to do with you? Here it goes.

When you are respectful and not obnoxious about your convictions you will be granted favor by God.

Psalm 5:11–12 NKJV

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You. For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

You can have the favor of those around you simply by being true to who you are.

You don’t have to engage in the crude jesting or the heavy drinking or the obnoxious behavior of the world to be respected. In fact, if you are a tag along, you will be respected less. If you stand as a person of character and honor you will be favored.

There is something very important in play here. He was not disrespectful of the king’s command. He made an appeal and said, let’s try it my way for just 10 days, if after 10 days you don’t like the way I do it then we’ll do it your way. He was confident that God would prove him out. I want to tell you this. If we begin to walk as men and women of conviction and integrity everything we place our hand on will be blessed. We will be a blessing to our employers. If we do nothing but buck the system and make fools of ourselves then we get what we deserve. Let me tell you a secret. When I was a manager at Microsoft, some of my worst employees were the Christians. Remember, we are ambassadors of Christ out there.

But sometimes when making an appeal doesn’t work, we will have to move to the third and final point.

Be willing to face the consequence of your decision

Be willing to face the consequences of your decision. Daniel did when he was thrown into the lions’ den and Shadrach, Meschach and Abed-Nego did when they were thrown into the furnace. They trusted God and were delivered from the consequences—not of their own bad actions but of trusting God. God will not deliver you from your own bad choices just because you’re a Christian. Expect that God is going to deliver you. Daniel had no doubt that he would come through the 10 day trial because he knew that God was faithful. But look at what Shadrach, Meschach and Abed-Nego said right before being thrown into the furnace.

Daniel 3:16–18 NKJV

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

They were willing to take a stand even though it would cost them their lives. You must be willing to take a stand even if it will cost you customers, sales, clients whatever. I’m not talking about openly witnessing to people or being obnoxious about Jesus. I’m talking about being principled and courageous about your values and convictions. Be willing to share the Gospel if a natural opportunity presents itself but not in such a way as to not only get yourself in trouble, and turn people away from the very God you’re trying to get them to come to. I told you the story of the preachers we had in college. They did no good out there. They made a mockery of the Gospel because they were doing that stuff and being obnoxious. If, on the other hand, you make a principled stand and are still to be cast in to the proverbial furnace, then hold your head high, knowing that your God is able to deliver you from it and even if He doesn’t you won’t bow down to their idols. You won’t bring yourself to do the things they do.

Conclusion

We want to be a people that changes our world. We want to be a shining example of the goodness of God. In order to do that we have to take principled stands. We have to purpose in our heart that we will not defile ourselves, we have to make respectful appeals in order to avoid the ways of the world, and when that fails we have to be willing to face the consequences of our decisions. And it is not a scary thing because we know this: When we choose to follow Jesus, we never trade for less.