A Righteous Life (Daniel 1)
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CPT: God showed favor to Daniel who determined to live a righteous life before God amidst the temptations of luxury and status.
Purpose: Our church needs determination to live righteously on mission for Jesus.
CPS: Be determined to live for Jesus.
Introduction
As a church, we need to be determined to live righteously and with integrity before God. But to do that, we individually need to be a people who are focused on following Jesus with our lives. We need to be a people who are determined to live for Jesus.
Yet, we face many challenges. There are challenges to being determined to live a righteous life. Sometimes, we think of determination as something that doesn’t work out the way we planned.
You see your boss pull up in a really nice car. You go up to your boss and say, “Man, that is a really nice car! I wish I had a car like that.”
Your boss says, “Well, if you work hard, if you put in really long hours, and you are really determined, I can get a better car next year!”
But being determined to live a righteous life is not like that. Whenever we face challenges, its the fruit of a life that has been obedient to God that really gets us through challenges. We need to live a righteous life amid challenging times.
Problem: How can we live a righteous life amid a challenging time?
We are starting our new series in the book of Daniel, and we’ll see Daniel and his companions living righteous lives under challenging circumstances.
Scripture Reading: Daniel 1
1 In the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it.
2 The Lord handed King Jehoiakim of Judah over to him, along with some of the vessels from the house of God. Nebuchadnezzar carried them to the land of Babylon, to the house of his god, and put the vessels in the treasury of his god.
3 The king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility—
4 young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom, knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the Chaldean language and literature.
5 The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank. They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to attend the king.
6 Among them, from the Judahites, were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
7 The chief eunuch gave them names; he gave the name Belteshazzar to Daniel, Shadrach to Hananiah, Meshach to Mishael, and Abednego to Azariah.
8 Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief eunuch not to defile himself.
9 God had granted Daniel kindness and compassion from the chief eunuch,
10 yet he said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and drink. What if he sees your faces looking thinner than the other young men your age? You would endanger my life with the king.”
11 So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief eunuch had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
12 “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.
13 Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king’s food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.”
14 He agreed with them about this and tested them for ten days.
15 At the end of ten days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king’s food.
16 So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables.
17 God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind.
18 At the end of the time that the king had said to present them, the chief eunuch presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.
19 The king interviewed them, and among all of them, no one was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they began to attend the king.
20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king consulted them about, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and mediums in his entire kingdom.
21 Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.
Pray
Summary:
The Israelites have been conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar. The king takes the Israelites from their homeland in Jerusalem to hundreds of miles away in the city of Babylon, a place in modern day Iraq.
He gets the best and brightest young men, and has them serve him. Four of them are Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
These young men are faced with a challenge, which is what we will focus on in Daniel 1, especially verse 8
What does a righteous life going through a challenging time look like?
First,
A righteous life is determined to honor God amidst temptation.
A righteous life is determined to honor God amidst temptation.
State the point; Anchor the point; Validate the point; Explain the point
Text: Daniel 1:8; Acts 11:23; Psalm 141:3-4
Daniel determined in his heart to honor God amidst temptations. Like Daniel, Christians need a fixed and Spirit-led mindset to resist anything that pulls us away from a God-honoring life.
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Daniel’s determination
Daniel is a young man. In this text, it says that Daniel is determined not to defile himself. Take a look at verse 8.
8 Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief eunuch not to defile himself.
Determined defined
The Hebrew word translated as “determined” means to set in place, as if you are arranging and fixing something, installing something so that it will not move. You are fixing something in place conclusively or authoritatively.
Daniel’s mind was fixed in place, set down that he would not defile himself.
Defiled defined
Defined means to be morally or ritually impure, unclean. You could think polluted, so that if he ate the king’s food and wine, it would pollute himself before God.
What was defiling about the king’s food and wine?
The Jews had certain dietary restrictions that were given to them by God, so that there were certain animals they could not eat. The nations around them didn’t follow these laws. But there was more.
Often, for the foreign nations even the acceptable, clean animals were first offered up as victims to foreign gods, and part of the wine was poured out as a libation on the altars of these foreign gods.
So for Daniel and his friends, their conviction was that to participate in the king’s food and wine would be to participate in their idol worship. That would definitely defile them before God. You see this in Exodus 34:15:
15 “Do not make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land, or else when they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.
Daniel and his companions were determined not to defile themselves before God.
Determined applied
As Christians, we need to have minds that are set in place, fixed and focused that I will follow Jesus today in what I think, what I do, and what I say. We often walk around in an environment that is not in line with the values of God. We need a determination that, no matter what, we are people who follow Jesus.
Barnabus encouraged the Antioch church to be determined
23 When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged all of them to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts,
The heart is that place within us that feeds our convictions. Jesus needs to change the heart, and the convictions will follow. We are encouraged to be people who remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts.
Why do we need this kind of determination?
Being determined is needed because there is temptation in the world.
If we take a look at young Daniel, he is like us. He is in a world and a situation that is surrounded by temptations.
Daniel faced temptation
1. “Far from authority” temptation
He was in a foreign land, away from the Temple.
First, Daniel is in what I call the “Far from authority” temptation. He was in a foreign land, in Babylon, which was located in modern day Iraq, hundreds of miles away from the Temple where the Jews worshipped in Jerusalem. Think of the kid in college, far away from home. “No one is looking, they won’t find out.”
2. “Social peer-pressure” temptation:
He was treated as special by the king
Second, Daniel had the “social peer-pressure” temptation. Daniel was looked at in Daniel 1:4 as a young man:
4 young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom, knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the Chaldean language and literature.
“They think I’m special, I’m suitable for the king, I don’t want to let them down.” Anyone who has been in high school knows this kind of social-peer pressure temptation on a young man.
3. “Feel good” temptation:
He was offered the finest delicacies
Last, Daniel faced what I call the “feel good” temptation. In front of him, he is offered the finest of the finest meals. This is the king’s food and the king’s wine. This is the best of the best food. It may be wrong, but it feels right. I think the “feel good” temptation is so prevalent today. We want to feel good in the moment and not think of where this temptation will lead us.
Ultimately, we need to seek the Lord to resist temptation.
The Psalmist sought the Lord to resist temptation
3 Lord, set up a guard for my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.
4 Do not let my heart turn to any evil thing or perform wicked acts with evildoers. Do not let me feast on their delicacies.
Illustration
Honoring God amidst temptation: Illustrate - Some people think of avoiding temptation like you are swimming out in an ocean, and there is a shark right behind you. You swim as hard as you can, hoping that the shark won’t bite you. The shark comes up for a bite and misses, and you get to shore relieved.
But to honor God amidst temptation is more like being in the ocean in a shark cage. Have you seen these? People get in these cages, and you’re in the ocean amidst a school of sharks. Yet, as long as you stay within the boundaries of the cage, the sharks could be swimming around you, but you’re safe. They can’t get in the cage. Now, if you start fooling around and sticking your arm outside the cage with a dead fish in your hand, well, that’s on you.
We need to stay within the boundaries of a righteous life in Jesus. Honoring God in your life is setting up that cage around you, that boundary that says, “Lord, deliver me from evil.” We need those boundaries in our life of prayer and devotion to God to resist the temptations surrounding us in our life.
A righteous life is determined to honor God amidst temptation.
Second,
A righteous life is willing to trust God and love others amid a trial.
A righteous life is willing to trust God and love others amid a trial.
State the point; Anchor the point; Validate the point; Explain the point
Text: Daniel 1:8, 12-13; 2 Cor. 13:5
Trusting God is the confidence of knowing he will get you through what you are facing. Daniel prioritized believing in God's way over the challenges of his trial. No matter what happens, God's way is always better.
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Daniel needed to trust God in the challenge of being obedient
Young Daniel and his friends are stepping into a challenging situation. This is certainly a trial for them. Are they going to step up to the challenge of being obedient to God in this foreign land?
Daniel needed to love others in the midst of the challenge
What’s interesting in learning about Daniel and this challenge is how we went about overcoming the challenge. What you will see throughout this challenge is how Daniel loved others throughout the trial.
1. Daniel knew his boundaries
Daniel knew what his boundaries were. This was important. He said, “I worship God, and I am obedient to his ways.” His mind was fixed and focused on living a life that honored God, no matter the consequences. What’s interesting is how he went about his boundaries.
2. Daniel asked permission
8 Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief eunuch not to defile himself.
It says that Daniel asked permission from the chief eunuch. This was the guy in charge. Daniel knew that he was putting the chief eunuch in a tough spot. Yet, he didn’t curse the guy out or do something unfriendly towards him. Instead, he asked permission. He was kind in the way that he established his boundaries with others.
It says that God granted kindness and compassion from the chief eunuch. Sometimes, when we sow kindness with others, we can get kindness in return.
Look at how else Daniel handled this.
3. Daniel sought a peaceful solution
Daniel was in a tricky spot. How could he hold to his boundaries and yet also provide something that would work for the chief eunuch?
12 “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.
Daniel sought out a peaceful solution to his dilemma. This was something a bit risky. He was risking that it wouldn’t work out, yet implicit in this is Daniel’s trust in God that as he was obedient to God and showed love to his boss, God would get him through this test.
Last,
4. Daniel opened his life up for examination.
13 Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king’s food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.”
This is so good. He says to the chief eunuch, “God is going to get us through this, and you will see it in our lives.” He encourages the chief eunuch to see the work of God in his life. He says, “We are going to be obedient to God, and I invite you to see that journey with me. You will see what God will do.”
Here is an interesting thing about a trial.
A trial will expose your Christianity. Paul encouraged Christians to examine their life.
5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless you fail the test.
When we are going through a trial, often times its not the trial that is the main issue, but it is the heart issues that it exposes. When you are going through a trial, how does your heart respond? A trial will often show you your spiritual health.
The Bible says that we should be people who are open to regularly examining ourselves. Are we people who are walking in faith? When we open up and look at our lives, do our lives look more like Jesus, or are they more aligned with the world?
Illustration
Examining your life: Illustrate
More Perfect Illustrations: For Every Topic and Occasion Spiritual Perception: Why Does It Hurt?
A man went to see his doctor in an acute state of anxiety. “Doctor,” he said, “you have to help me. I’m dying. Everywhere I touch it hurts. I touch my head and it hurts. I touch my leg and it hurts. I touch my stomach and it hurts. I touch my chest and it hurts. You have to help me, Doc, everything hurts.”
The doctor gave him a complete examination. “Mr. Smith,” he said, “I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is you are not dying. The bad news is you have a broken finger.”
This is the good thing of self-examination. We need to take time to look at ourselves and consider, “Why do I have a short fuse this week? Why am I not as loving to this person as I should? Lord, expose in my heart the weaknesses that I have, and work on them!” Maybe there is a major issue that needs to be addressed, or maybe like in that story, there is a broken finger that I need to focus on so it can heal.
A sure sign of your spiritual health is in your heart, are you loving others? When you are in a challenging circumstance, do you snap at others, or is your reliance on God causing you to love others?
A righteous life is determined to honor God amidst temptation.
A righteous life is willing to trust God and love others amid a trial.
Third,
A righteous life gets wisdom and understanding from God.
A righteous life gets wisdom and understanding from God.
State the point; Anchor the point; Validate the point; Explain the point
Text: Daniel 1:17; Job 12:13; Prov. 2:6; James 1:5; Psalm 119:98-100; 1 Cor. 1:18-25
God filled the minds of Daniel and his companions with wisdom and understanding. A righteous life learns from God and prioritizes his way above all else.
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A righteous life needs wisdom:
Daniel needed wisdom to withstand temptations and get through trials.
How did young Daniel get through his temptations and trial? He needed wisdom. The story shows us how God filled the minds of Daniel and his companions with wisdom.
God is the source of Daniel’s wisdom.
17 God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind.
What is wisdom?
The Bible says that we are people who need wisdom. Wisdom is more than just knowing a lot of things. There are a lot of people who know a lot of things and still make foolish conclusions and foolish decisions. Wisdom is the ability to make the right moral decision before God.
The Bible constantly shows us how God is the source of wisdom.
Job says that God is the source of wisdom: Job 12:13
13 Wisdom and strength belong to God; counsel and understanding are his.
Solomon says the Lord gives wisdom: Proverbs 2:6
6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
James says to ask God for wisdom: James 1:5
5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.
If we want to be people who live a righteous life before God, we need to be people who get wisdom from God. The Lord is the source of wisdom, and gives wisdom to all who seek him.
How do we grow in wisdom?
Daniel’s obedience led to his growth in wisdom.
Don’t miss this!
Daniel as a young man engaged with Scripture. How do I know this? Daniel knew the law. He knew that eating the kings food and wine would defile him. But he didn’t just know Scripture. He applied Scripture to his life.
He read the Bible, he engaged with the Bible, he let the words of the Bible fill his mind and heart, and then he applied the Bible to a real life circumstance. The words of Scripture had a real impact on decisions that he made and actions that he took.
As a result of him engaging with Scripture and obeying God’s word, God’s wisdom grew in his life. Through obedience to God’s word, he grew in wisdom and understanding.
Their obedience made them wiser than others. Look at Daniel 1:20:
20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king consulted them about, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and mediums in his entire kingdom.
Do you want wisdom in your life? Engage with Scripture and apply it to your life.
The psalmist saw obedience as a path to grow in wisdom: Psalm 119:98-100
98 Your command makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers because your decrees are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the elders because I obey your precepts.
Wisdom and understanding will grow out of a heart that is committed, devoted, and obedient to God’s word.
For the Christian, the wisdom of God is ultimately seen in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
The Bible says that Christ is the power and wisdom of God: 1 Corinthians 1:22-25
22 For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.
24 Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God,
25 because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
Illustration
Wisdom from God: I like what Louis de Montfort, a Jesuit missionary, said:
The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations Cross and Wisdom
The soul really desirous of wisdom should first of all desire to enter more deeply into the mystery of the cross, which is the way to life.
The New Encyclopedia of Christian Quotations Cross and Wisdom
In all truth, wisdom is the cross and the cross is wisdom.
The cross is the wisdom of God. When you look at Jesus at the cross, you see the wisdom of God.
Jesus cried out in the garden that if there is any other way, but not my will but yours be done. There was no other way for God to bring rebellious people back to him.
We couldn’t do it. God had to step into our time, our flesh, and pay our penalty to bring us to him. Do you want wisdom? Look to Jesus, and follow him.
Conclusion
A righteous life is determined to honor God amidst temptation.
A righteous life is willing to trust God and love others amid a trial.
A righteous life gets wisdom and understanding from God.
Conclude
Have you heard the message today and realized that you need Jesus? Are you ready to put your faith in Jesus? We want to pray with you and celebrate your new life. Please see one of our pastors after the service.
Blanks: honor God; temptation; trust God; love others; trial; wisdom; understanding
Prayer
Last Song
Doxology
24 “May the Lord bless you and protect you;
25 may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
26 may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.” ’
24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy,
25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.
You are dismissed. Have a great week in the Lord!
