DEVOTION IN A WORLD OF COMPROMISE

Introduction

-In the early 20th century there was an American ship that wrecked near the coast of England. The sea had been calm and the weather clear that whole day, but the vessel was caught in a treacherous current that slowly lured it off its course—but the captain and crew didn’t know that they were off course. Before the captain and crew realized what was happening, their ship crashed into the rocks and sunk

-This story reminds me of the slow, easy, and sometimes undetectable ways we ourselves get led off course and then compromise the faith. The world, the flesh and the devil want to catch our souls in the powerful currents of compromise, desiring to cause a shipwreck as we lower our guard and start to make concessions with unrighteousness and sin, drifting away from a whole-hearted, pure devotion to God.

-Today we are going to look at the prophet Daniel. Daniel found himself in a position where compromise with pressures from the world would have made his life easier for the moment, but most definitely would have cost him in the long run. But instead of allowing himself to drift with that current, Daniel chose constant devotion to God, for which he was blessed.

-The world is trying to conform us into its mold, but by relying on the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can choose to resist that compromise, and live whole-heartedly devoted to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

-As we study this text today, may we leave here purposeful in our devotion to God while living in a world full of compromise

Daniel 1:8–21 ESV

8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 9 And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, 10 and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” 11 Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king’s food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” 14 So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king’s food. 16 So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. 17 As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 18 At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. 20 And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. 21 And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.

-When Babylon first conquered Judah, they began a process of taking captive some of the people and bringing them back to Babylon. Part of this plan was to bring young men who were part of the nobility who were superior both physically and intellectually, so that they could be taught the ways of the Babylonians and used by the king as counselors and wise men.

-Daniel and his friends were part of this group. Probably around the age of 15, they were brought to Babylon, given new names, and placed in training. Part of the training was to build the boys up physically. To build them up to be physically strong, they were given the same food that was prepared for the king, which was obviously the best food in the entire Empire. But the food included animals that the Law of Moses said was unclean.

-Now, Daniel was many hundreds of miles away from Jerusalem. Had he just gone ahead and compromised and ate the food, nobody would have known, and nobody would have cared. His life could just go on with ease.

But Daniel knew different. The Jews left back at home may not have known, but Daniel knew that God would see and know, and that to compromise in this area would have been dishonoring to God.

-I wonder how many of us are willing to be devoted to God in every area of life like Daniel. Or, when we know that nobody else sees, we compromise with the world.

~What are some ways that we can purposely choose devotion over compromise:

I) Be resolved in your heart to follow Scripture

-Daniel knew the law of Moses inside and out—he knew that to please his God, he would follow all of the law, because the law made the people separated unto God from all the rest of the nations

-He knew that the law forbade God’s people from eating certain animals because they were unclean, and that they were forbidden to eat food sacrificed to idols and food that still had blood

-Leviticus 11:47--

make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.

-Daniel knew the Scriptures--and our text says in v. 8= Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself—it means that Daniel, long before being carried off to Babylon, had determined in his heart that he would follow God’s Word no matter what situation would come in his life—Daniel years before this said to himself, “No matter what, I will follow the Word of God”

-So, whatever temptations or trials would come along, Daniel already would be unwavering in doing what was pleasing in God’s sight----he didn’t even have to wrestle with it in the moment

-If Daniel was not resolved in this way, he would have been going back and forth in his mind, with a great temptation to give in ----but instead, because he had already resolved to follow God’s Word, there was no struggle or wavering, he just immediately said: This is what God’s Word says, so I’m sticking to that

-Here’s two applications for us: 1) You need to know Scripture if you are actually going to follow what it says. It is going to be very difficult to resolve yourself toward something that you don’t know

2) Set it in your heart now that you will follow that Scripture no matter the situation or the pressure it brings----resolve in your heart right this second that no matter what comes your way and no matter the consequences that may result, you will not compromise what God’s Word says

II) Be humble in your dealings with unbelievers

-Daniel was resolved in his heart to do what was right, but he had to deal with the powers that be that were over him that were godless pagans

-He had to deal with Ashpenaz, the chief of the eunuchs, the guy who was in charge of all the boys that had been brought in for training from all around the world

-Daniel approached Ashpenaz humbly to make his request----Daniel didn’t cop an attitude with----He didn’t come up to him and say, “Look, I’m a Jew and I can’t eat this garbage, so you’re going to have to find me something else”

-Daniel didn’t come up to him with some sense of arrogance, Daniel didn’t look down his nose at him, Daniel did not look down at him with an air of superiority----Daniel wanted to maintain his devotion to God, and was able to do so without ruining the reputation of God in the eyes of the unbeliever

-Daniel instead humbly made his request; and because of this God gave Daniel favor in the man’s eyes----the guy liked Daniel because Daniel acted very kindly toward him, and the guy liked Daniel’s God because Daniel represented Him well

-You can see this too when Ashpenaz denies the request scared he would literally lose his head—Daniel didn’t get mad and throw a fit; Daniel didn’t hurl insult after insult

-In our desire to be devoted to God, and in our dealing with lost people in a world of compromise, don’t be a jerk—God doesn’t honor the arrogant, and we will never make headway with lost people----in fact we will put up more barriers than anything else

-When we are under the pressure where our devotion to God could be compromised, it could be easy for us to act in the flesh, and if we do that, not only do we make our own situation worse, but we completely smear God’s reputation in the eyes of the unbelievers that we are dealing with

-Christians can be their own worst enemy in this way----I think of what Ghandi said, a man who was lost as lost can be—he said that he likes our Christ, he just doesn’t like our Christians----he said that because the Christians he knew were arrogant hypocrites, and it turned him off of Christ, and he is now in a Christless eternity

-I see this particular point as quite relevant to the politically charged atmosphere that we find ourselves in—without a doubt we want to stand up for biblical righteousness without compromise—but in doing so, we cannot act in such a way that we come across as condescending to the lost people who disagree—we will never win them to Christ and righteousness that way

-Humble dealings with lost people during times when our devotion is put to the test will yield righteous results and will bring us and our God favor in the eyes of a lost world

III) Be open to the guidance of God’s wisdom

-His first request was not granted—so we read in the text that Daniel sought God, who gave him the wisdom to approach the situation a different way

-I hope we all realize that if we resolve in our heart to be devoted to God, and seek His face in prayer to ask Him to lead us and empower us to do so, God will equip us to maintain our devotion--and here He did so with Daniel

-Since the upper-management (so to speak) didn’t listen, Daniel was given the wisdom to go instead to the middle-management (the steward that was directly in charge of Daniel and his friends) and come up with a plan that would prevent them from defiling themselves, while at the same time setting at ease the concerns of his Babylonian stewards

-So Daniel with that wisdom of God tells the steward just to test them out on a new diet that would be honoring to God, and see what happens—if it doesn’t work, there’s no harm done, but if it does work then they stay on it

-Daniel didn’t rely on his own cunning, nor did he rely on his own ability to scheme—Daniel was open to be guided by God in wisdom so that the plan and the result would be God-glorifying

-When the temptations of compromise come your way, don’t think that you have the ability to talk your way out of it or scheme your way away from it—seek God, be open to Him, and He will give you wisdom to find the most glorifying way to remain dedicated to Him

IV) Be grateful for the blessings God bestows

-When we resolve in our heart to always be faithful to His Word, and when we do so with a humble attitude, and rely on His wisdom to do so, God will bless our efforts

-because of Daniel’s devotion, God blessed him in so many different ways:

-v. 17=As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. (Dan. 1:17 ESV)

-God blessed Daniel with even more wisdom and abilities—I see a principle at play here that our Lord stated in Luke 16:10-- One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much

-God found Daniel faithful in what was most basic, so God built into that and gave Daniel even more

-but the blessings don’t stop there—vv. 18-20 tell us that after their 3 year training, all the boys were brought before the king who interviewed them all, and nobody could even compare to Daniel and his friends physically or intellectually

—they were so superior that the king placed them in the most prestigious spot in the land, working directly with him in his court--and Daniel maintained a high position in the Babylonian Empire even past the end of the Empire

-God blesses faithfulness…devotion—God is looking to bless you if you so commit yourself

V) Be mindful of the devotion of your Savior

-Daniel here is a picture of Jesus Christ—his life points to the life of our Savior

-Daniel did not want to be defiled, but remain devoted to the Lord to fulfill whatever God’s plan was for Him

-Jesus Christ remained undefiled also, so that He could be the sacrificial Lamb without spot or blemish who would take away the sins of the world

-Throughout His ministry, Jesus was pressured to conform to the religious and social norms of the day, instead of a pure devotion to God----but Jesus would not allow Himself to be so compromised

-and through His devotion we are now saved—by His wounds we are completely healed—the Pure and Holy One died that we might have life

-Had Jesus compromised with the world, we would still be lost—but His devotion leads to our salvation and our indwelling by His Holy Spirit so that we too may lead a completely devoted life—devotion in a world of compromise is possible only thru the Lord Jesus Christ, just as heaven and salvation is only possible thru the Lord Jesus…

Conclusion

-There was a father and son raking leaves on a brisk fall day, and after a while they noticed something darting in and out of the piles that they had raked together. After a lot of searching they uncovered a chameleon. It was difficult to see among the brown leaves because it had blended in with them by turning brown, too. After catching the little creature, they put it in a jar of green grass, where it immediately turned green. When they added some red berries, the chameleon began to take on that color.

-To me, this is the picture of the compromising world. People just adapt themselves to the unrighteousness of the world, instead of sticking out in their devotion to God.

-I pray that you set in your heart right now that you are so devoted to God and His Word that you will not compromise in your speech, in your lifestyle, in the choice of music you listen to, in the way you dress, any area of life==don’t be a compromising chameleon, remain devoted to God…