Difference Makers: Through Resolve By Senior Pastor Tom Harrison August 20, 2017 Daniel 1:1-21 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. v1 605 B.C. v2 King Nebuchadnezzar conquering Jerusalem, looted the sacred furniture from the Temple and returned it to Babylon. v2 GOD is shown as being part of this conversation and blessing Daniel. But there is also the contrast with god. This is not THE God of the Israelites, but the god of the Babylonians. There s a conflict looming on the horizon. v4 young men The Babylonians carried off some of the Israelite royalty. He forced these Prisoners of War to go to Babylon. He didn t take the riff-raft, low-life s and undesirables. He took the brightest of the bunch. Daniel and 3 of his friends were in this group. He is probably a teenager, and far removed from his parents and royal family. He is taken to live in a place he did not choose. He s like a POW who never returns home. He will die in exile at an advanced age. Nebuchadnezzar wants his young men in tip-top shape because they will serve in his palace. He will try to get them to learn some new things. He will try to convert them from being Jewish or Israelites to being Babylonians. He wants to move them away from being compromise. v4 Language & literature At attempt to influence their THINKING. This will introduce them to new ways and ideas.
v5 Food & wine. Will influence their BEHAVIOR. Will help them enjoy the privileges that come with living in the kings palace living the high life. He wanted them to eat the best food. v7 new names. Names are important. There is power in naming. Daniel ( Elohim Hebrew name for God) is given a new name. He goes from EL to BEL (Babylonian name for god). But throughout the book, Daniel remembers his Hebrew name. It s not Belteshazzar in the lion s den. v8 But Daniel was resolved not to defile himself. His dilemma is that the food had been offered to idols. Eating it would have violated his Jewish dietary code. He had to choose: Get the promotion and compromise his spiritual values OR stick to his values and lose his promotion and maybe his life. You don t buck the King of the World. His risky decision was to stay true to God. v 8/12 Asked permission and says Please. He spoke the truth in a respectful and humble way. He was not rude, angry, obnoxious, threatening or whiney. The chief official liked him and wanted him to succeed. He was wise. v 12-14 Daniel had a plan. This was a huge risk. He was operating from a firm foundation, but he still didn t know how it would turn out. We won t know how God will use us, but if we fail to plan, we plan to fail. We must prepare. v 20 They were given wisdom. (Knowledge and understanding of all kinds, too) v 21 The outcome is that Daniel has INFLUENCE upon 3 kings (Nebuchadnezzar, Belteshazzar, Cyrus of Persia). Daniel and his friends became difference makers in a foreign land they didn t choose or seek, but their years of preparation allowed them to respond to the unpredictable situation with resolve. They knew who they were, they knew what they believed and, with God s help, they navigated a challenging situation with such wisdom and grace that they were respected by and influential to a king who didn t share their beliefs.
3 Application Points: 1.) The resolve of Parents to raise kids in the faith. Babylon has moved to America. It s always been here; it s just more aggressive now. Our children WILL be taught. The questions are Who will teach them? What will the curriculum be? It s vitally important that parents teach their children about the faith. Babylon is trying to entice our children to follow another god they get this message in schools, movies, culture. Someone taught Daniel. In fact, an entire faith community helped raising these children. It wasn t just Daniel here are 3 others who are named. They had similar instructions. Parents you have a responsibility to ensure that your children are being raised in accordance with God s word. Today, we ve given a # of you Bibles. These are for use. You need to use it, teach it, model it. So much of life is shaped by what happens to us when we are young. You will set the example of how to worship, pray, give, serve and love. Your kids will pay attention to your lead. I want to challenge you to be resolved about worshiping God as a family from this day forward. Make this THE priority of your life. Bed-time prayers. Reading the Bible together. Talking about the faith. Attending church. Don t give God your leftovers. Don t let your kids think God s just getting the junk. A lot of this is behavioral. Just do certain things (and avoid others). We ask people when they join to uphold the church in 5 ways: My prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. Read the Bible with your prayers. We can t guarantee And they all lived happily ever after but we can say that there is a life that is blessed. Act. Be an influencer. One of the biggest reasons we aren t is because we fail to live in the present. Forget the past. Don t focus upon the future. Focus upon today. Not tomorrow. Now. Your children are going be gone before you know it. Start today. Take this Bible and use it tonight. Start a new tradition. Raise Daniel s and Danielle s in a godly way. Even if you ve never done it before and don t know how. Just do it. And do it today!
2.) The resolve of Children/Teens to seek wisdom from God. It means making good choices in friends. It means showing respect and humility to others. It means not compromising one s conscience or being meanspirited. Daniel exercised leadership. He showed resolve. His friends joined him, but he was going to do it regardless of anyone else s response. Going along with the crowd is the easy option. Jesus called it the wide or broad road. Anybody can do that! But he took a firm, yet respectful stand. Perhaps Daniels action built community and courage. Kids: I want to challenge you to make up your minds to follow God all the days of your life. Make it now. Ask God for wisdom on how to do that. And seek Christian friends. 3.) The church. Jesus said to Let the children come to Him don t hinder them for to such belongs the KOG. Church let s come alongside parents and kids. Let s welcome them into worship with the love of Jesus. Let s go out of our way to make room for them in the pews. Let s be patient and gracious when they have a hard time sitting still. Pray for those with families seated next to you that the parents may be strengthened in their knowledge of the Lord. Let s make Asbury the best place we can be for a family. We are here to HELP OTHERS FOLLOW JESUS. It all begins with children and students.