Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

How many of you have ever been on a boat in the middle of a storm?

Storms can be frightening even in the comfort of our own homes, but on a boat in the middle of a lake or in the ocean with no protection from the wind and waves?

That is a moment that can be absolutely terrifying!

To make matters worse, these types of storms can seemingly appear out of thin air.

One minute you’re inner tubing or wakeboarding or kayaking and the next minute you’re paddling for your life in order to avoid the coming storm.

We have the benefit of having boats that have motors and can travel 40-50 miles per hour to avoid such storms… That hasn’t always been the case, though.

In Mark 4, we read of the disciples being with Jesus on the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus had been teaching his followers and others in parables and sharing with them the importance of having faith and letting their faith impact their entire life!

We read in Mark 4 that Jesus had explained these parables in detail to his followers.

He shared the truth with them - they knew that they could trust in Him… But what happens at the end of Mark 4? The disciples are out on a boat and Jesus is asleep.

A storm comes up and the disciples get afraid - just like we would!

Yet, Jesus continues to sleep.

The waves were forcing water into the boat.

Yet, Jesus continues to sleep.

The disciples think the boat is about to break, yet Jesus continues to sleep.

They run to Jesus and tell him that they’re about to die!

What does Jesus do?

He immediately stood up and commanded the storm to cease.

What happened?

The wind and waves stopped.

Jesus looked to His disciples and said, “Why are you afraid - do you still have no faith?”

These men were with Jesus.

They heard His teachings.

They saw His power… Yet, in the moment where the rubber met the road, they didn’t have faith in Him to provide.

Even if you’ve been a Christian your entire life, isn’t this a temptation at times?

Whenever times are going well, whenever you’re comfortable, things are good and you have all the faith in the world!

But what about whenever push comes to shove and you’re in a storm and you feel as though the wind and waves of this life are going to destroy your life and bring you under?

In that moment, is your faith as strong in the Lord as it is in the good times?

Some people have a conditional faith - a faith that is predicated on their circumstances.

When times are good, then I’ll trust in God.

But when things aren’t good, I’m going to trust in myself and my ability.

In Scripture we see that this isn’t the type of faith that we are called to have.

We see that we aren’t supposed to have a conditional faith - we’re supposed to have an “Even-If” type faith.

In the book of Daniel, we see this type of faith demonstrated in 3 separate scenes: Daniel 1, Daniel 3, and Daniel 6.

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to examine these stories and see how this type of faith in God stands out in this world and brings us to a place of peace before our God as we trust in His kindness, goodness, sovereignty, and grace even in difficult times.

Do you have this type of faith today?

I pray that whenever you’re in the storm, you know that He is with you and that He will provide exactly what you need, when you need it.

Let’s read this morning from Daniel 1 as we find this

In this introductory section, we read that the Babylonians, under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar, conquered Jerusalem in 605 BC and took Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego as well as many others into captivity.

Today, as we examine this entire chapter, we’re going to specifically look at how these 4 Hebrews teenagers demonstrate faith in their God, how God delivers them, and how we are called to trust in the Lord today as well.

Trust in God Regardless of your Location (1-3)

Babylon was the world power in the 500s BC as they had just defeated the Egyptians in an epic show down and were now exercising their dominance by taking the youth of various places to their home so that they could indoctrinate them in Babylonian culture.

This is a smart military decision by the Babylonians.

Who is the future of any nation?

Your children.

If you want to change the direction of a nation what should you do?

Change their children.

As the expression goes, “He who controls the past controls the future.

He who controls the present, controls the past.”

If you have control in the present, you want to rewrite the past in such a way that you control what people think so that you, then, control the future.

The Babylonians captured Jerusalem and brought with them these Hebrew teenagers and others from various places that were captured.

Consider, though, why were the Jewish people in this situation in the first place?

The Jews were God’s chosen people and God promised to guide them and protect them.

Why, then, were they being captured by Babylon?

In the ancient world there was this idea that whenever 2 nations were fighting one another, the winning nation won because their god was more powerful than the opposing nation’s god.

In other words, if the Babylonians beat the Egyptians, it would be because they fought well but primarily because the Babylonian gods were stronger than the Egyptian gods.

Why, then, would Israel be defeated by Babylon?

Was it because the Babylonian gods were greater than the God of Israel?

Certainly not.

Look at what God promised the people back in Deuteronomy 28:15

In Deuteronomy 28 you read of covenantal blessings and covenantal curses.

If Israel obeyed God’s commands then they would be blessed… But if they disobeyed, they would be cursed.

Some of these curses included military defeats and deportation to foreign land.

What had been going on in the nation of Israel during this time?

Idolatry.

False worship.

Pagan practices.

Sexual immorality.

A failure to worship the One true God! Therefore, God delivered them into the hands of the Babylonians.

Look at verse 2 of Daniel 1.

Some people don’t like this idea, but we clearly read that God is in control - this is one of the principle themes in the book of Daniel.

God is sovereign!

God allows the nation of Israel to be brought into Babylonian exile.

Why would God allow this to happen?

Why send His people to a foreign land as exiles and servants?

So that, in part, His truth would be spread far and wide.

We see that some of the best and brightest in Israel were taken to Babylon - likely these were teenagers - the future of the nation!

Yet, God is working out His perfect plan because as these young children were taken, they would remain faithful in exile.

They would share of the truth of their God to a pagan empire.

They would bring the king to his knees and even the star watching astronomers would come to know the God of the Israelites!

Even in punishment, even in defeat, God is at work!

Maybe you’re thinking that this is a great story for a group of people thousands of years ago… How does it impact you?

It impacts you simply because God is always at work in your life in the good and in the bad.

Sometimes something “bad” happens so that God’s name is made known to the lost.

Sometimes something bad happens so that the name of God can permeate the darkness and the lost can be evangelized.

Consider the example of Joseph in Genesis.

Joseph was imprisoned and sold into slavery.

Joseph continued to trust in the Lord, though.

Joseph eventually is promoted due to God’s blessing in his life and is able to save his family and the Egyptian empire… He says this at the end of Genesis

Even in Egypt, Joseph trusted in God.

Even in Babylon, these Hebrew teenagers would trust in God.

Even in the valley of despair or the in the sea of sorrow, you too can trust in God.

You can trust that God is still at work and that He is still with you even though your location might be in flux.

Trust in God Regardless of your Situation (4-7)

The situation in Daniel 1 goes from bad to worse for these teenagers.

Not only would they be taken away from their homeland and families, they would be taken to the kings palace, renamed, and taught things contrary to what they were told growing up.

On the surface, being a servant in the king’s palace sounds like a good deal!

Consider, though, what these boys would have been taught along the way.

They would have been taught my the leading experts in mathematics, astronomy, science, and even religion.