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Pulpit Ministry | Sermons - Chronological | Old Testament | New Testament | Subject Index |
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Rev.
Tim Muse Subj:
World and Life View, Sanctification, Children, God – Sovereignty, Faith
Introduction
This
morning we begin our study in the Old Testament Prophetic or Apocalyptic
Book of Daniel as we turn to our new Sermon Series entitled
“Daniel:
When Times Get Tough, Keep Trusting in Your God!”
This Series will consist of approximately 17
sermons. Though the most
common way of breaking the book of Daniel divides the book after chapter
6, we are going to follow the Linguistic Division in the book and look at
the first seven chapters before Christmas, then pick up with chapters
eight through twelve in January. Let
me share Four Reasons for Studying Daniel:
For
the Scripture says: Times of temptation, trouble, oppression, and persecution
will come, but God will triumph over them all!
Hence the title – When Times Get Tough – Keep Trusting In Your
God!
With
that introduction, let’s now look at Daniel, chapter 1 Scripture
Reading 1In
the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2And
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. 3Then
the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some
of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility—4young
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. 5The 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. 6Among
these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7The
chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to
Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. 8But
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. 9Now
God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, 10but
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.” 11Daniel
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. 13Then
compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food,
and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14So
he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. 15At
the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than
any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16So
the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and
gave them vegetables instead. 17To
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. 18At
the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official
presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19The
king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. 20In
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. 21And
Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.”
Our
Father in heaven, who not only triumphs, but who rules and turns the
hearts and minds of men upon this earth, we dedicate this time of study
and this series of sermons to your glory!
May you fill us now with your wisdom and understanding, that we
might honor your lordship and control over all of life, that we might
serve you faithfully and honorably with our lives, and that your kingdom
might be advanced through our lives, having impact both for us today, as
well as for the days that follow. This
we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen. Sermon
Excuses,
Excuses, Excuses! The world
is full of excuses. I’ve
got mine, you’ve got yours, everybody else has theirs as well…But,
God’s people are supposed to be different!
A
person today can justify just about anything and everything we want.
It doesn’t matter if we are talking about our motives or our
methods. For example, take the child who says: “I took HIS toy, because he took mine.”
… or a Person trying to lose weight who says “I ate the food
even though I was dieting because it was the weekend, a holiday, my
birthday, I’ve been doing good for two days, or because everybody else
was eating.” If
we want to justify something, there are a thousand excuses why we ought to
do, or better “had” to do what we end up doing.
It can even be as simple as the criminal who says “I shot him, just
because I felt like it.” In
today’s world, it’s very common for us to allow our circumstances to
dictate how we act, rather than allowing who we are and how we are to act
to determine how we respond to our circumstances! As
we come to Daniel 1, we discover that:
Regardless of the
circumstances we face, we must be willing and determined to deny ourselves
rather than to defile ourselves in our service before the king. I’d
like to show you that under three headings:
IT DOESN’T MATTER (1) WHO
YOU ARE; (2) WHAT YOU
ARE TEMPTED WITH or WHO YOU ARE TEMPTED BY; (3)
WHAT OTHERS (LIKE
YOURSELVES) ARE DOING I.
IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO YOU ARE It’s
clear in this passage that Daniel is set before us as one, whose example
we are to follow, whose example gives us hope, even in the most trying of
times. Let’s
look at the History of what is taking place.
First the big picture. God
has rescued his people from Egypt, brought them into the promised land and
established his covenant with them, which they have failed to keep, and
refused to accept his repeated warnings and failed to repent and turn back
to him. Therefore, God
himself has given them over to the Babylonians, that they might be taught
to honor him, look to him, and follow him.
. Nebuchadezzar laid
siege to Jerusalem & over a period of years he subdued and overtook
Jerusalem over a period of several years, and in particular in three waves
of attack, bringing about its destruction.
In the first wave, in 605 B.C., Daniel and some of the other
children of royalty, along with some of the temple treasures (vv. 1-3) are
carried off to Babylon. Then
in a second wave (597 B.C.) after the rebellious acts of the Judean
leadership (Jehoiakim & Jehoaichin) 10,000 captives, including
Jehoaiachin son of Jehoaikim &
the prophet Ezekiel are carried off to exile in Babylon.
Then, in a third wave (587 B.C.), after a long siege, Nebuchadezzar
destroyed both the city of Jerusalem and the temple. So, Daniel, was carried off in the first wave, and if you
look to v. 21 “remained there until the 1st yr. of Cyrus”, we find
that he was exiled in Babylon for the entire 70 years of the captivity of
the Israelites, which he witnessed, and records for us here in this book. Let’s
next look closer to what we find taking place in Daniel 1.
Here, we find that King Nebuchadnezzar is not just being kind to
Daniel and his companions, giving them the worlds best education and the
kings own food, just to be nice to them.
Rather, he is executing a strategic, a calculated and patient plan
to advance the agenda of his own kingdom.
Let me show you what I mean. In
that day, when one nation conquered a weaker nation, it profited them more
to establish a suzerain/vassal relationship where the weaker nation in
receiving certain benefits from the stronger nation was to serve (pay
tribute, etc.) the stronger nation, rather than tying up all their own
leadership trying to control and run the weaker nation.
What better way to ensure this went successfully than to carry off
the children of the king and the sons of the other nobility, for then the
weaker nation would be motivated to keep the treaty for the welfare of
their children. The reverse
was true as well. The
stronger country was motivated to take good care of the children and even
use them in places of leadership and honor so that the weaker country
would honor their relationship and not raise up and revolt against them,
once again tying up their assets. Also,
it profited the stronger country more to secure and invest in the future
leadership of the weaker country to be used in fulfilling their own
agenda, than to once again tie up their own resources of leadership trying
to control and keep in control that leadership.
As one commentator put it “the
leaders of today’s movements are not the first to look to the college
campus to find the leaders of tomorrow.”
As the Baker Commentary puts it
“The royal grant was to perpetuate the Babylonian system of
cultural, political, social, & economic values. The education was intended to brainwash the youths
& to make them useful Babylonian subjects.” How
was this BRAINWASHING accomplished: It
was accomplished through Isolation, Education, Re-identification, and
Seduction. First, Isolation -
They would separate these youth from any meaningful and influential people
or relationships that “they themselves” might influence them.
Next, Education – They would teach them no longer to think like
Hebrews, but like Babylonians.
Reminds us of the Political Correctness of our day, and the way our
Culture and Media attempts to brainwash us.
Also Re-identification – They would lead them to no longer think
of themselves according to who they were, but according to who the new
regime wanted them to be. Reminds
us of how the world and the ACLU want Christians to believe that we are no
longer the moral voice of our society but one lone voice among other
equals, or other more dominant and ruling forces.
Finally, Seduction – (this probably the most powerful!)
They would treat them well, indulge them, make them think highly of
themselves, and promise them a place or position of importance and
power,… as long as they would give the company answer and serve the new
regime. This appealed to the
flesh! They did ALL THIS with
the INTENTION of SWAYING them: Away
from their former rulers, their former way of life, their former way of
thinking of themselves, and of thinking of others and of this new regime,
& swaying them toward the new rulers and new system. This
is SCARY!!! They threatened
them, tempted them, deceived them, and seduced them into embracing (for
themselves) a new world and life view! It
is in this setting that Daniel (v.8) decided
and resolved (determined) NOT to Defile himself with the royal food and
wine. On
the one hand, Daniel was considered ROYALTY and rather RICH in Human
Qualities. vv.
3-4 “Then
the king ordered Ashpenaz, … to bring in some of the Israelites from the
royal family and the nobility – (v. 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 kings palace.”
He was even treated on
one level as nobility in the new land. On
the other hand, Daniel might have considered himself one of the MOST
TRAGIC CASES on earth. In his
won country, he had a fabulous future ahead, but now he was a captive,
removed from his family and homeland, and being used as a pawn in the
hands of an evil king in one of the most evil empires of the world. But
EITHER WAY, Daniels RESOLVED in this situation to Deny Himself rather than
Defile himself! Why?
The answer is found in vv. 1-2.
Daniel recognized by faith that though on one level, the History of
Humanity was the cause of his circumstances; on another level, GOD was
behind the circumstances that led to his captivity.
vv. 1-2 “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 delivered Johoiakim king of Judah into his
hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God.”
We see this clearly in
Isa 39:6-7 which was written well prior to Daniel’s being taken into
exile. “And
they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you
will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palac of the king of
Babylon” The
truth is that GOD is ultimately behind ALL the circumstances of our
lives! Sinclair Ferguson says
“This incident illustrates for us
an important principle: the
way we think – about God, ourselves, others, the world – determines
the way we live. If
Nebuchadnezzar could only change these men to think like
Babylonians, then they would live like Babylonians.
That principle is still true.
The secret of faithfully living for God today lies in the way we
think.” I
find it interesting that the term “treasures” in the Hebrew is the
word “vessels”, a term
the New Testament uses to describe us.
Here they are carried off… Also,
in the Hebrew, in v. 3, the Chief Official is commanded to bring some of
the CHILDREN OF ISRAEL to be taught.
The point is: Here is
a PICTURE of what the Ruler of the Kingdom of this world (Satan)
is doing now! He Seeks to Take Captive & Carry Off the
Children of Israel (You & Me) in order to Brainwash Us & See
if We will Go Along with him and be useful to his regime.
He will use whatever it take …He Uses Instructors of Religion, of
Liberal Arts, Sciences, the Pressure of those in Authority over us,
Seduction, Power, Prestige, etc...to Sway OUR Allegiance TO HIM!
But here’s the question: Will
U & I be RESOLVED to DENY Ourselves rather than to DEFILE Ourselves,
OR…Will We Think to ourselves on the one hand, apart form any
faithful recognition of God, that I
DESERVE the BEST the WORLD HAS TO OFFER (“Get the Most I Can!), or
on the other hand, “Woe is Me! World
is Cruel! I have NO CHOICE
but to Submit, & Give In?” When
we recognize that God is in control, even when things don’t seem to be
working out for us, we will recognize the need to continue to honor and
serve the Lord, even in the worst of times!
And you see, it doesn’t matter WHO you are, WHERE you live, WHAT
your childhood was like, WHAT your boss did or said to you yesterday, WHAT
some person in a position of Importance or Influence did to you in the
past, WHAT Circumstances you find yourself in today, you and I are ALWAYS
to honor and serve the Lord! It also DOESN’T MATTER:
What AGE YOU are Either! v
4 “young men
without physical defect” were brought in.
v. 13 “then compare
our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal
food.” v. 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.”
v. 17 “To these four
young men God gave knowledge and understanding…”
v. 21 Daniel remained
there for 70 yrs. (had to be young) In
fact, most commentators would agree that Daniel is approximately 14-15
years old here, YET he is spiritually mature and RESOLVED not to defile
himself. The point is we MUST
TRAIN UP OUR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE TO THINK CRITICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY
FOR THEMSELVES, so that even if they are separated from us, in a back part
of the church, down the street from us, or away at college, they will BE
PREPARED for ANY challenge that comes their way.
Satan doesn’t wait until our children are full grown!
Parents and church leaders, there’s a CHALLENGE for you!
Train OUR children up well! Children,
Youth, here’s a CHALLENGE for you! The world is going to try to seduce you and brainwash you
into following it’s ways. You
NEED to PREPARE YOURSELVES SPIRITUALLY for seeing through that deception,
and handling yourselves accordingly! As
church members, we’re not trained TO THINK for ourselves… we’re not
trained to THINK CRITICALLY today! …but we NEED TO BE!
We cannot allow our station or circumstances in life to determine
whether we honor the Lord, or not! We
must always be determined to honor and serve Him! II.
IT DOESN’T MATTER: WHAT
YOU ARE TEMPTED WITH or WHO YOU ARE TEMPTED BY (vv. 8-16) Look
at these verses. v. 5 “The
king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the
king’s table…” v. 10 Chief
Official says to Daniel “I
am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and
drink...” YET, in v. 8
we read: “But Daniel
resolved (Determined in his Heart) not to defile himself with the royal
food or wine, …” Let’s
face it, there were a lot of reasons (pressure) for Daniel to just give in
and comply! We see that in v. 10
Chief Official
“Why should he see u looking worse than the other young men your
age? The king would
then have my head because of YOU.”
Daniel RISKED his own life
… even in asking the Chief Official not to eat/drink. The
reason why Daniel resolved not partake of the King’s provisions is
because it would lead him to SIN. v.
8 “But
Daniel resolved not to DEFILE himself”
(Pollute himself, become unclean)
This resolution was an act of worship!
He was setting his heart not to Sin! The
specifics as to why he chose not to eat this food or accept this wine is
not as clear. It could have
been because of the Levitical laws which prohibited
Israelites from eating certain foods (and we know Babylon was known for
it’s Pork), but that doesn’t explain why he would not drink
the wine (unless he was fulfilling Nazarite vows, which is unlikely in
this situation). Or it could
have been because foods and wines were offered to pagan gods. Or he may have chosen not to accept them so as not to be
obligated to the king Prov
23:1 “When
you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a
knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. Do not crave his delicacies, for
that food is deceptive.” Or,
as Calvin puts it, he could have made this decision out of judgment,
sobriety and abstinence so as not to be Seduced or Tampered
with by the Luxuries of the Court.
We don’t know the exact
reason, but we do know that to have indulged in these gifts offered and
served to him, would have
been SINFUL for him! The
lesson we learn is that even in the face of great temptation and pressure,
we are to be determined not to sin! … and like Daniel, we are to follow
through with whatever is necessary to carry that plan out! That
doesn’t mean, however, that we flaunt, shove,
or force our religion down the throats of others, but we are to be
wise in conducting ourselves before the Lord.
v. 8 “Daniel asked
the chief official for permission not to defile himself”
v. 12 Daniel
said to the guard “Please
test your servants…” What’s
interesting is, that after awhile, after Daniel denied himself and proved
that God’s ways are better than man’s ways whatever those ways may be,
the Temptation was REMOVED from him! v. 16
“So the guard took away
their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables
instead.” By
the way, this is NOT a proof text for Animal Activists and Vegetarians.
As many commentators point out…It is GOD who made the difference
here, and depending on one’s physical condition, a vegetarian diet may
help or hurt a person. The
word translated vegetable here comes from the word “pulse” which
includes anything planted with seed including fruits, lentils, etc. The
TYPE of temptation is worth noting: HIGH
LIVING & INDULGENCE! We
are on the whole given over to this in the United States today!
Think of the shopping, spending, indulgence in food and drink,
entertainment, the desire to live the good life, the obesity in our land
across our country, etc. Think
of the lack of Restraint. Do
you spend all the time, even if you don’t have to?
Is there self-denial in your life just even for the sake of
godliness? Again, Sinclair
Ferguson says “High
living very easily masters the senses and blunts the sharp-edged
commitment of young Christians. The
good life that Daniel was offered was intended by the king to wean him
away from the hard life to which God had called him.
It would encourage him to focus on himself and on a life
of enjoyment. It would
lead him to think of himself no longer as a servile Israelite but
as a distinguished courtier.” What
is it in YOUR life that keeps you from being a faithful servant of God?
Is it too much meat and wine that makes you sleepy?
Is it too much of the good life that keeps you from serving the
real king? Is it desire for
position, prestige, the desire to show off your intellect?
Is it fear of those in authority over you?
In v. 9 we read “Now GOD had caused the official to show favor
and sympathy to Daniel.” In
v. 17 “ To these four young men GOD gave knowledge and understanding”
The truth is GOD is still involved in our lives as well.. but the
question is Are you seeking to serve him, or Are you satisfied to indulge
in Sin? III.
IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT OTHERS (LIKE YOURSELVES) ARE DOING My
father said to me on several occasions “Tim, I hope your friends don’t
jump off a bridge, because you will be right there with them.”
We learn from that that we are not always to do what our friends
are doing. Daniel
and his three companions did right, but it appears there were many other
Israelites who readily gave in and complied!
My question for you is this: Where
are THEY today? Even in their
own day, they were not found to be as wise as Daniel and his companions.
They did not leave a mark on human history, and they were not
considered worthy of their names being recorded on the pages of Scripture
(they made no significant spiritual difference!)
The point being… God Blesses Those who are Faithful!
Just because others are indulging & enjoying themselves with
the pleasures of this world DOESN’T
MEAN U & I should be!
Christians today must learn not to be conformists to the world,
but to think critically for ourselves, that we might be conformists to
Christ! Here’s
the need of the Gospel. The
biggest problem in all this is this:
You and I can’t change this on our own!
We LOVE the things of this world. We
LOVE thinking HIGHLY of ourselves, & DESIRE to be thought HIGHLY by
others. We DON’T want to Give that Up.
We WANT MORE! But…
that’s where Christ comes in to play!
He promises to be our wisdom (to enable us to see through all this)
and to give us a new heart (that we might desire God rather than to
indulge ourselves with the seductions of this world)!
Will YOU look to him in faith for this? There
was a TEENAGER in 18th century who
began to write a Series of Resolutions (70 of which were completed
by 20th birthday) His
name is Jonathan Edwards. He
wrote: §
Resolved,
never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more,
but what tends to the glory of God… §
Resolved,
that I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing
I live to old age. §
Resolved,
never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my
corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be. §
Resolved,
never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if I expected it
would not be above an hour before I should hear the last trump. We’re
told that Jonathan Edwards was later found to be blessed with one of the
sharpest minds in American History. He
certainly became one of the greatest theologians, philosophers, preachers,
etc. that our soil has ever known. What
is it that you need to be RESOLVED… either to do, or not to do?
And … Will you prove faithful, even when your resolve is put to
the test? Christ will help you in that as well, it you will look to
him, and depend on him!
Prayer Lord, May we be weaned from the ways of this world. May we be nurtured from the word of heaven, that obedience might be our guide and that blessing might be our reward! This we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Pulpit Ministry | Sermons - Chronological | Old Testament | New Testament | Subject Index |
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