That first date If you are under the age of 15 please put your hands over your ears.

Transcription

1 1 Daniel 1 PHAT: Pretty Hot and Tempting That first date If you are under the age of 15 please put your hands over your ears. There was this girl in my high school that could only be described as super hot. I wasn t the only one who thought so. It wasn t like one of those, beauty was in the eyes of the beholder kind of girls. She was hot, in every beholders eyes. She was just right, not too big, not too small. She had the nicest ass ets you could picture. A figure that every girl wanted... and every guy wanted if you know what I mean. She was the kind of girl that I would have loved to date, but I knew my place. You know the ranking system right? You can sometimes be within a point or two of someone and with just the right luck, they may go out with you. Now I am not degrading myself, but I wasn t in the top of that ranking. I was a nice guy, I wasn t ugly, I was a little skinny but it wasn t a game stopper. I was a good guy to have as a friend and I would hold open the door for people and I was pretty genuine. I was better than average, but not a lot. Maybe a 6. ON a really good day with a nice tan after I got done working out, I may have pulled off a 7. But she was a is perfection; she wasn t perfect, but she was as close as I could imagine without being a supermodel. She was a solid 2 to 3 points above me, so in my case, she was just nice to look at. Until one night after a party she invited me and another guy to her house with her girlfriend to watch a movie. It was already after 11 but the 9 had invited the 6 to her house when all good boys and girls should be home and in bed. I could tell you how the other guy left early and the other girl fell asleep. I could tell you how I almost left at about 1:00am. I could tell you about the phone call from my parents that no one answered and her parents didn t hear about 2:00am. I could even tell you about my arrival at home around 4:00am met with a police presence (apparently my curfew wasn t as elastic as I thought). I could tell you that this was the first girl I kissed that made me feel this way (and I had kissed others). But I can t get into the details because I fear too many people didn t put their hands over their ears and I have a holiness reputation I need to fake, I mean protect. I tell you that story to make clear what the next many many months entailed. See, I was a pretty strong Christian, at least compared to my friends (maybe not by Covenant Life visible standards, but they were still meeting in a basement as the People of Destiny so in my world, I was the holy kid.) I woke up at 5:00 so I could translate the Greek NT. I hadn t started college yet. I read Calvin s Institutes before I went to work. I could tell you what the difference between justification and sanctification was and could describe in some detail the hypostatic union, verbal plenary inspiration, and penal substitution. I was 18 and a strong Christian. But there was this girl in my life I really really liked to kiss. A lot. Now, even then I wasn t one of those Baptists that thought that kissing was evil, but I have to admit that my mind seldom stayed on kissing. I

2 2 was 18, wasn t thinking about marriage and I was lusting over a woman who would likely be someone else s wife. I desperately wanted to stay pure. But she was a 9. A 9! And I had become at least a seven just by hooking up with her. And I so wanted her. All the time. You little kids find this conversation disgusting. You teens know exactly what I am saying I bet. You people over 40 perhaps remember what it was like when you used to be hot for that one girl, we will just say it was your wife. But you adults probably still struggle with temptation. Temptation not to tell the truth because it may hurt you in the work place or marriage. Temptation to be with that other man who actually listens to you. Temptation to ignore your kids for your own convenience? You kids know what temptation is too don t you? When you are saving your money for that $ bike, but that lego landspeeder is only $26.00 and you have it with you. When your parents said you couldn t watch a certain kind of movie but you are over at your friend s house and they just put the movie on. You don t want to look like a loser by going home or requesting a different movie. And dad will never find out probably. (he found out that I was watching Poltergeist two houses away. Never figured out how he did that) Our sermon this morning is about temptation and about choosing wisely. Daniel s temptation What was his temptation really? Well, Daniel had a pretty hefty temptation too. It dealt with food. Some of you know that temptation pretty well also. You have started the P90X but then you are over someone s house and they have mint oreos on the table. Mint Oreos! That s a special kind of torture right from the devil. Well, Daniel feels your pain. Actually, though, it s not food that is the temptation but probably the desire to be included. Peer pressure. You probably know about that as well. Okay too much talking from me, let s hear how they tell the story in Daniel. What s Daniel s back story? NIV Daniel 1:1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And 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. You know this story already having been well versed in Ezekiel. Daniel was probably carted off in the second attack on Jerusalem. Ezekiel a bit later in the third one. But you know Jehoiakim.

3 3 You know Nebuchadnezzar. You know about the siege. You know about the temple. Nothing new here. Who is Ashphenaz? Are Daniel and his friends special in any way? 3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility-- 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 king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. Ashphenaz? You are going to meet him in VBS in a few weeks. He will tell the first story about the exile and about these remarkable men whom he was in charge of. And they were remarkable. Good looking, brilliant, adept at language and logic and understanding. Why wouldn t they eat the food? 5 The 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. 6 Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. 8 But 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. So there are these 4 and probably many others who have been chosen. We will talk about their names a bit later as we spend more time with Rack, Shack, and Benny, but for now, notice how Daniel resolved not to eat the royal food and wine. Why? We aren t exactly told why, except that it would defile him. Perhaps it broke the purity codes in Leviticus. Perhaps they were offering him bacon. Bacon! How could someone pass up bacon? Or more likely it is royal food and therefore sacrificed first to idols. Either way, Daniel thought it would defile him and asked not to be forced to eat it. And I love that God was going before Daniel to cause the official to show favor to him. Who wins the contest? 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, 10 but 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." 11 Daniel 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.

4 4 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. 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. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. Contest over. They look better than their peers so all is well. In fact, very well. How much more gifted were they in literature, learning and oneirology? 17 To 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. 18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's service. 20 In 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. 21 And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus. (Dan 1:1-21 NIV) Ten times better than all the other magicians and enchanters. So Daniel and his friends are now magicians and enchanters themselves. Skilled in literature and learning and oneirology. Blessed for standing strong. How is this passage about standing strong? But let s jump back to that middle section where Daniel is given his food. Nothing here says directly that he was tempted or that he stood strong But put yourself in his place. He is an outsider. A foreigner. A conquered subject. And now he is being brought into the palace. Quite a change in status. And with this change in status, he gets to eat the king s food. This is everything anyone could ever ask for. With this change in status comes respect, honor, fame, probably wealth. His family would be well taken care of. All he has to do is play it smart. Just eat the food, study hard, keep your nose clean and you have a job with the big wigs. How might you be compromising... just a little? Let s say you are in college and excelling. God is really blessing and your professor comes to you and says that you have been selected for an internship in your second year of college. You will get paid $100K a year for this internship while you complete your final two years of college

5 5 under the guidance of this professor. When you graduate in two years you will be brought into the firm as a full partner with a million dollar a year salary and already paid for house in the top school district and a company car, phone, pension, insurance, you name it. All that is expected is that you study hard, contribute your wisdom often, listen to the professor and of course, Sunday is a major work day. No worship for you for the next two years. Now this isn t that big of a deal. You skipped worship last week when you were sick and 4 weeks ago for a little weekend getaway to the mountains. It s just two years. And you can always podcast the sermons. You can even go meet with the pastor once a week. And if you are making 100K a year, with very little time to spend it and an assured million a year very soon, you can sure contribute a lot to the church. But you have bought what Pastor Jace has been saying for so long. Your church community is your family and you need to gather with them for worship. Or maybe you could have all that success if you just agree to work 14 hour days 6 days a week for the next year. You have made a commitment to raise your kids to fear God and you know that means not only quality time but quantity. But you can make up for it later. A little compromise here, a little compromise there. I am sure Daniel felt this same pull. It s just bacon. How bad could it be? It may have been sacrificed to idols, but I didn t sacrifice it. I don t believe in those idols. It s just food. Maybe he started to work through the trajectory and realized what Paul will eventually say that it is okay to eat food sacrificed to idols. That it is okay to not be circumcised. That there really isn t a check list that you have to maintain to be loved by God. Can you feel his temptation? If he stands strong, then he will have no chance to make an impact later. Should we keep on sinning that Grace may abound? Will God really stop loving me if I make out in the back of this car? Of course not. He will love me no matter what. Does God really care if I don t befriend that nerdy kid? It s not like a real sin. I am busy and it s not like he is asking to be my friend and I am refusing. And I did go to church this week, so that will make up for it anyway. And of course Grace will abound all the more through my sin. So it s not that big of a deal. But Paul even has an answer to that: Should we keep on sinning that grace may abound? God forbid. NO! We live for his pleasure. And Daniel stands strong. Respectful, but strong. The same temptation that Adam and Eve had in front of them to eat the forbidden food Daniel had. And while Adam and Eve failed in that temptation, Daniel succeeded.

6 6 Is temptation a sin? There was no sin in the temptation. We are all tempted. What matters is how we react to the temptation. It would be easy now for me to say, Dare to be a Daniel. What are the three Sunday school syndrome problems? In fact, it would be easy to allow the Sunday School syndrome points I made last week take over. The Noah s ark problem: that we tame the story down and in so doing miss the larger picture. We romanticize this and forget that Daniel s decision may have resulted in abuse from his peers, rejection by Ashphenaz and very probably being impaled and hung on a gallows. Don t romanticize the story. The Disney problem: that if he just stands strong, then all will go well for him. But there is no guarantee. We know the end of the story, but he did not. He didn t have certainty that God would protect him. He decided that faithfulness was more important than safety. The goody two shoes problem: that the point of this story is to do gooder. After all, we are kind of saying Dare to be a Daniel. We have named the theme of this VBS Standing Strong. It s about doing the right thing. We even give kids points for doing the right thing by making their bed, watching younger siblings, cleaning their closet, and bringing other people to VBS. But if we find our answer in any of these, we have not done what the trajectory of Scripture demands of us. We haven t seen the one who was tempted and stood strong to such a degree that makes Daniel s stance pale in comparison. And while Daniel is indeed a good example of standing strong, Jesus was far more than a good example. His choice to take the pain and not relieve his suffering resulted ultimately in our being changed from death to life. What does Christotelic mean? Can we look to Jesus before we end this morning? There is really no other direction to look. All of scripture is pointing at him and waving and calling that we see him and delight in him. Adam was tempted in the garden, and ate the fruit. Moses was tempted in the wilderness and hit the rock. Israel was tempted not to trust and chose not to go into the land. Solomon was tempted to trust in his own power and he did, along with so many later kings. But some did stand strong in the face of major temptation David did not take Saul s life when it was there and easy to take. Job did not curse God when it seemed God had given up on him. Joshua did ridiculously march around a city for 7 days

7 7 Abraham did prepare to sacrifice Isaac. And all these stories take us on a journey towards something. They do not end in themselves. They take us to Jesus. The goal of the OT stories is Jesus. I call this a Christotelic understanding. Telos = goal Christ = Christ. The New Testament s wilderness temptations And just like the wilderness temptations and just like Daniel s temptation outside the land, the gospels all open pretty early on to the temptation narrative. It s in Mark chapter 1, Matthew 4 and Luke 4. Name each temptation I want to glance at Matthew s version because it is the fullest. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. It is in the wilderness for a reason. You are supposed to see in your mind s eye, the Israelites who were tempted there. The Israelites who complained about lack of prestige, lack of honor and most memorably, lack of food. It s not mere coincidence that Jesus was hungry 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus is starving. He can turn the stones into bread. There is no law that says he can t. And the temptation is very real. Remember Jesus is a man. He can t supernaturally put aside his hunger. He is a man. He is tempted. The same way you are tempted when you skipped lunch and someone brings a chocolate cake to work. You are starving and it looks incredible. But you know you shouldn t. Daniel wasn t starving, but the temptation was similar. Temptation to be included, temptation to succeed. And there is a very real smell of bacon in the air. Jesus probably really wanted food. Nothing wrong with that. Our bodies desire sustenance it s how God made them. But he had to go for 40 days without. Just as Israel went for 40 years. Deuteronomy 8 says that he led the Israelites in the desert for 40 years to humble them and test them in order to know what was in their heart, whether or not they would keep his commands. He had to succeed where they failed. This wasn t merely an incitement to improperly make bread, or an attempt to prove that he was God, or to prove to people that he was God s son; it was a temptation to use his status, his sonship in a way inconsistent with his God-ordained mission.

8 8 4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' " A rebuke to the tempter that God s will is sufficient for him. The best way to live is not instant gratification, but waiting for God. He has a better plan, even if we can t see it. The second temptation (Luke s third) has him looking down from the high wall in the temple. 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' " 7 Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' " This was Herod s rebuilt temple that was expanded half again as large as the original second temple. To do that, a huge retaining wall had to be built where the land slopes. The jump would surely kill someone, but the tempter knew that the special status of son, meant that God would protect him. This was the basic promise for his son in the Old Testament. If Israel kept the covenant, than God would fight for them, he would supply for their needs. They were safe. If Jesus were struggling with his status, this would prove it once and for all. If Jesus knew well his status, then it would only confirm it. But either way Jesus was being asked to prove his sonship before the time. Are the temptations real? This temptation was real. Jesus is a man. He wanted to succumb to pressure. He wanted to feel the safety of 10,000 angels. He wanted to be rescued from this difficult existence. But he stood strong. He would not put God to the test. 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." This, again, is a very real temptation. Jesus didn t know everything that was coming his way. He knew he had to be a suffering servant and that kind of sucked. Why not offer allegiance to this world? To this way of life? Why not get the kingdom the old fashioned way? Be a vassal under another suzerain. After all, all that which was being offered was coming to him anyway, why not take the easier way towards it?

9 9 10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' " 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. (Mat 4:1-11 NIV) Just as Israel was offered life if they stayed loyal to Yahweh and death if they bowed down, Jesus knew he must stay strong. He must obey God s will. Many people see this temptation narrative as being a story about a life of temptation. That an actual personal Satan didn t actually meet him in the desert and on a mountain and on the temple, but that these kinds of temptations were a regular part of Jesus life. Constantly tempted to take the kingdom in the most natural, easy way. To be the messiah that they expected. But he chose to stand with God. The stories of Adam, Israel, Daniel all lead to the culmination point we see in Jesus. One who will stand strong for us. Who will clutch life for all of us even though it meant great pain and death for him. This doesn t mean we can give up. It doesn t mean we don t have to stand strong. It just means that the story of Daniel doesn t end there. Perhaps we could say that this is not even the main point. In fact, this is why we wanted to write our own curriculum this year we thought that heilsgeshichte was not obvious enough in any of the curriculums we had. We wanted our kids to see the glory of the cross, not in an evangelistic, you have to get saved right now sense, but in a glorious proclamation sense regardless of your response. Of course we want people to respond to the gospel, of course we want people to stand strong. But primarily we want them to see the beauty of the good news that Jesus stood strong as he carried that cross. And sometimes fell hard. That he stood strong and sometimes fell under the burden of the whip. That he stood strong even when it meant excruciating pain as he lifted himself on the foot spike to get even an ounce of air in his lungs. So look to the cross kids, teens, adults. See the cross. Clutch it for dear life and don t let go. And then stand strong. Stand strong, not following Daniel s example primarily, but in joy because of what Jesus did for you. How might you stand strong specifically now, knowing what Jesus did for you? Let s go ahead and give you something to strive for. Because of what Jesus did, let s think of some examples that might be relevant. 1. I know she was kind of a witch to you. In fact, she is always a witch to you. I know you so want to lay her out but that isn t ladylike. But she has to be dealt with. Doesn t her. The temptation to spread a rumor about her, or just to try to get people on your side by speaking ill of her even if it s the truth. We all have this tendency to gossip don t we? If she looks worse, then we look better, and people sympathize and try to lift us up.

10 10 2. I know it s easier to stay on the couch. The game is on (again) and you deserve your down time. You work hard in the magnet program. You work 12 hour days. You need some me time. You are NOT wrong. You do need some down time. But mom still needs help. The kids still want a dad. You can ignore your kids maybe they don t even ask anymore because you have shown yourself unwilling so now the guilt is gone but they need you. Even if they don t think they do. Maybe you can t ignore mom so easily, but you can try. If the music is up just loud enough that she can t tell whether you can hear or not, maybe it won t be worth her time to climb the stairs and get you out of your room. I know it s tempting. I am saying, stand strong. 3. I know that girl sitting in the seat next to you. I remember her in my Mitsubishi. So beautiful. So soft. Smelled so good. God made her that way and it is good. But he made her that way for her husband. It s not wrong to be tempted, but I think we can glorify God best by being kind to her future husband. This goes for married people as well. I know its not always easy to come home to that spouse at 6:00. She looks like she never even took a shower this morning. He was wearing a suit but when he is home he wears ripped up shorts and now shirt with his stomach hanging over his belt. And you see that super professional woman at work every day. That great looking guy at the gym. And they listen to you, and laugh at your jokes and think you are something. And your spouse hasn t been intimate with you for 5 weeks. I know the temptation (of course my wife is always beautiful and giving and sensual, so not really). Stand strong. Come talk to me. Pray hard. Stay faithful. 4. What about when its easier to make your brother take the fall for the stolen cookie? 5. What about when you just don t want to stand up for that bullied kid or adult? What choice will you make? By the way, I was kind of a good two shoes, I did tame down the Bible, and I did get the Disney ending. That PHAT girl I wanted so much. I got her. Eight years later I married her and 16 years later, she still looks pretty hot to me. So I have been kissing on that girl for 24 years. I praise God that he doesn t always treat me as I deserve.