Conviction - How Strong Is Yours?

We live in a culture that's becoming more and more antagonistic toward anyone who follows Christ. In the Bible, through his actions and prayers, Daniel gives us a powerful example of what it looks like to live unashamed in a culture that sees no need to live righteously and obediently for God's glory.

We spent quite a bit of time last year going through each verse of the Book of Daniel. I would like to use portions of the Book of Daniel for the next few weeks to help us to stay true in a world that is far away from God.

I want you to think about a brand new, white T-shirt for a moment. No matter how careful you are with that shirt, the bright whiteness seems to eventually fade. It starts getting a dull yellowish color. That's kind of what happens to believers.

Every Christian is living in the middle of a culture with different priorities, values, and beliefs, and as much as we try to remain clean and clear from all of it, we all become a little less bright the more time we spend in this world. Despite this natural dulling, we still need to remain true to who we are in Christ.

Here are a few questions that we're going to try to answer in this message today: First, think about what are some firm convictions that have defined your life so far? How close is your relationship with God?

How can we, as believers, respond to the pressure to conform to a non-Christian society?

How can we help each other stand against the culture when it conflicts with our faith? That's the direction we are going in the message today. Prayer.

Nebuchudnezar, king of Babylon, had conquered Jerusalem and gotten rid of its king. He had carried off to Babylon some of the precious items from the Holy temple. Along with those vessels, he also took some of the noble youth. He had planned to train them in the Babylonian ways and customs for political purposes later on. He was hoping that along the way they would return to positions of influence in their own countries and extend Babylonian ideas into those conquered lands. It was a way of deeply and permanently integrating formerly autonomous nations into the empire of Babylon.

That was Nebuchadnezzar's intent, but God had other ideas. Daniel was among a group of Israelites who found themselves living a foreign land, among foreign people. The best and brightest of Israel have been sent to the cultural center of the Babylonian empire. They had hoped to change their ways to Babylonian ways. But Daniel intended to follow the plans of God rather than the intentions of the Babylonians.

Daniel 1:3-7 – “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.”

No one had asked Daniel and the others what they would like to learn, or to eat, or even if they wanted their names to be changed. But they lived in Babylon now. We should have an idea of how they felt because we as believers in Christ find ourselves living in a culture with all kinds of expectations. As believers, we have an unchanging source of truth. It's not in our nature to fit in with the world. It should be in our nature, as children of another kingdom, to stand apart.

To Daniel and those with him, it must have seemed like their lives were out of control. But God was conditioning and positioning these young men for a greater impact. When you think about it, that is God's pattern throughout Scripture:

Remember Joseph? Joseph’s life spun out of control into Egypt, but God was positioning Joseph to help preserve his people.

- Moses’ life spun out of control when he ran into the desert, but God was preparing him to be the deliverer of Israel.

- David's life spun out of control when Saul turned on him and wanted to kill him, but God was planning just the right time for David to ascend to the throne.