Striving For Excellence Means Picking Godly Friends Series

Sermon – Striving for Excellence Means Picking Godly Friends

Scripture Lessons - Daniel 1:6 Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Daniel picked godly friends who were willing to stand with him. They stood with him in his decision not to eat the king’s meat.

Daniel 1:17-21 “God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams. When the training period ordered by the king was completed, the chief of staff brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the royal service. Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom. Daniel remained in the royal service until the first year of the reign of King Cyrus.”

Daniel 2:17-19 “Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon. That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.”

Introduction: Good friends relieve stress, provide comfort, and joy, and prevent loneliness and isolation. Developing the right close friendships can also have a powerful impact on your mental, physical, and emotional health. It has been said the lack of social connection may pose as much of a risk as smoking, drinking too much, or leading an inactive lifestyle. We often think that self-control comes from within, yet many of our actions depend just as much on our friends and family as ourselves. Those we surround ourselves with have the power to make us better or worse. Daniel knew how to pick godly friends. Of the thousands of Jewish men carried into Babylon, of the hundred selected for their beauty and their wisdom, Daniel selected three to be his closest friends.

For many people, social connections and loneliness have been a topic of renewed attention due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The implementation of social distancing guidelines has severely impacted our ability to get together and interact. In turn, making it difficult to maintain existing friendships and create new ones. This drastic shift has intensified the loneliness epidemic in the US. Some experts blame shrinking family sizes and the fact that more adults live alone. And, as it turns out, this is a problem that can have serious consequences. Yet the difficulty faced by Daniel and the people of Judah and Jerusalem far surpassed what we experience today.

Daniel realized the power of association. Who we choose to spend time with really matters because the people around you affect your happiness and success. This is known as the power of association and Daniel learns how to use it for their mutual benefit. Daniel picked godly friends who gave him moral support. The first sign of trouble Daniel would confide in these friends. They had successfully reframed from defiling their bodies with the king’s meat; they had been promoted to top position because of their wisdom and insight; now another problem arises that threatens their lives.

If you remember, the king had a dream that troubled him, and he requested an interpretation from his wise men. The priests and wise men told the king they could not interpret his dream if he would not tell them what it was. They said no man could do that. The king was angry and said he would kill all the wise men in the kingdom, including Daniel and his friends. In Daniel 2:17 it states, “Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:” They decided to ask the king for some additional time, and they would reveal the dream and its meaning. After three days, God revealed the dream and its meaning, and the king spared their lives and promoted Daniel again. In Daniel 2: 48-49, states, “Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.”

Some people never achieve excellence because they hang with the wrong crowd, choose the wrong friends, or follow the wrong influencers. If you are looking to make any positive change in your life, you will need to change your association. For example, if you are seeking a new career path or starting a new business venture you should associate with successful and knowledgeable people in that field. It is the same concept for elite athletes. Motivational speaker Jim Rohn says, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”. Your association influences you at a conscious and subconscious level including your thoughts, beliefs, and behavior. Striving for excellence means picking the right friends, valuable friends and associates who help us stay the course even in a strange environment. Mocking the Jewish victims who were carried into Babylon, their powerful captors requested a song. “For there our captors asked us for songs … 'Sing us one of the songs of Zion'” (Psalm 137:3). When most were sayings, “How could we sing the Lord's song in a strange land.” (Psalm 137:4) The Jews had allowed depression and misery to steal their song and deplete their joy. They had no one to support them or to hold them accountable. Daniel and his friends kept praying and kept singing. If we are going to live above compromise in a changing society and walk worthy of the vocation, we are called to, we must choose our friends wisely.