Take It To The Limit
February 3, 2008
Daniel 1:1-21
On the top of your bulletin is a quote. A quote I found in an article in our Skagit Valley Herald back in December.
It was an article about learning to say no.
In order to live into your life.
In order to live your life.
In order to not let others run you.
Steer you.
Manipulate you.
Your family
Kids
Money
Time
Relationship
The article says we have to learn to say "no." Dr. Ury, from the Harvard Law School, said this (read together)
In order to say yes to what’s truly important, you first need to say no to
other things. It’s the defining challenge of our age.
The defining challenge.
The challenge that will set the course for where your life is headed according to this man is learning what to say yes to and what to say no to.
In order to live.
In order to become.
In order to grow up and into our God-given dreams.
In order to faithfully pursue the call that God gives to each of us. We will continually be confronted with moments of decision, moments in time where we can say yes or no to the option before us.
Some of these moments have the potential to harm you and hinder the God inspired road you were on. Others have the potential to help you and hoist you up in living more faithfully with God.
On a weekly basis
For some of you on a daily basis, you come face to face with decisions that will define what is truly important and valuable to you. And friends this morning I want to make the case that quite often the right answer in such times is no.
When culture comes inviting.
When your friends come pushing.
When the text message comes with an offer.
When the neighbor has this semi legal and semi illegal wacky idea.
When you are in that difficult comprising situation with friends or strangers staring at you.
Pressuring you.
I agree with Dr. Ury, it is a defining moment of your life.
I’m told try methamphetamines once and you’re hooked.
Say yes to the high of gambling, sex pornography a few times and it becomes a
life changing habit.
Say yes a few times to going out with the boys or the girls for some evenings
of lewd behaviors and activities.
Say yes again to getting a credit card after cutting your previous ones up after
you got yourself in trouble and it can derail a life.
Culture pushes us to push our limits.
To take our lives to the limits.
To live at the edge with
No margin
No safety net
No boundaries
No room for error.
And quite often the consequences can define/influence your entire life.
Two weeks ago, we talked about the relentless pressure we are under to live compromising lives financially.
We talked about the prodigal son - how he left home with his inheritance. The world called and he responded. Breaking moral, ethical, financial boundaries. The result - joy? No - pain, loneliness - a desire to go home.
This week I talked with a man whose 2 Pastors had to declare bankruptcy because they had spread themselves to thin.
This week I talked to a person whose good friend is gambling $1,000 of dollars a week - who isn’t coming home at night - he has no financial limits.
You and I read and hear about house foreclosures increasing at a record rate.
You and I this week received free credit card offers. What did you do with them?
Our phones rang with telemarketers inviting us to try some gadget for free.
And if we aren’t careful we say
"yes" to trying.
To testing
To checking into it
And when we do, we let down our guard and we begin down a road that can be devastating. Some of you know this - what you can work monthly to save for, or years to accumulate can be gone practically overnight if we don’t have good financial barriers. We talked about that two weeks ago.
Last week, we talked about time barriers. Time boundaries.
Why is it that we are more stressed out.
More frantic.
Driving faster cars.
Having timesaving devices at home.
Able to do work from our house
Car
Work
Coffee shop on our cell phones.
And yet have so little time for our selves to enjoy?
We have difficulty defining what is essential and what is additional.
We talked about Moses last Sunday. What he was doing as a Judge. As the only Judge for all of Israel, what he was doing wasn’t good - working from morning until evening. Wearing himself out. He needed an outsider to come in and say,
No - you can’t do it this way.
Do it this way and when Moses got his time within some proper boundaries, he and all the people went home satisfied!
Today I want to talk to you about moral boundaries.
I went to my Webster’s Dictionary to get a definition for this word.
Morals - of or relating to principles of right and wrong behavior.
- conforming to a standard of right behavior.
Synonyms were -ethical
-virtuous
-righteous
-noble
-being of fine character and integrity
The person I want us to look at together this morning is Daniel.
Daniel was a man who had his moral boundaries.
His ethical standards in place.
Daniel, you will come to see wasn’t one to compromise.
Let down his guard
Lower his standard
Daniel is famous for being placed in a den of lions -Daniel, chapter 6. But do you know why he was put in that den of lions, - His morals - his convictions - he wouldn’t cave under pressure. Daniel’s friends - Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego, who appear in this book are famous for being put in a fiery furnace. Do you know why? Their morals.
I don’t want to look at these texts though. I want to look at a text that laid the foundation for these moments. I want to look at an earlier incident in Daniel 1, page 1369. Let’s begin with verses 1 and 2 tell us the history.
Give us the background.
(explain) 586 B.C.
605 B.C.
Verses 3 and 5 tell us the Kings’ plan. The Kings intentions as to how to keep his new captives in line and in order. (read)
The King’s method of creating order was to select the best of the best and then
Teach them.
Feed them
So that they then could serve him as influencers among the captives.
Imagine- the instruction they received.
The food they were served.
The wine they got to drink
it was the Kings.
For 3 years - 3 years of learning.
3 years of study.
3 years of having needs taken care of after which was job security.
You would serve in the King’s household.
Sound good?
Verses 6 and 7 tell us 4 of the men in this program. 4 of the best of the best. 4 of the who learned from great teachers. 4 of the men who ate great food - morning, lunch and dinner with fine wine. (read) - v. 6 and 7
Verse 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.
Notice the first word- but.
But Daniel-
Except that Daniel.
Not to go along with it Daniel.
Not so fast Daniel.
Not so agreeable Daniel.
But Daniel resolved (TNIV)
Made up his mind. (NASB)
Determined (Message)
Resolved in his heart (KJ)
Except that Daniel
Put his foot down
Boldly resisted
Was determined
Wouldn’t cross the line of defiling himself
Or polluting himself
Or corrupting
Dirtying himself with the royal food and wine.
Daniel was up against a boundary.
Daniel was in a compromising situation.
And how did Daniel respond?
What did Daniel choose to do?
In this defining challenge - would Daniel say yes like all the others?
Or would he say no?
Verse 8 tells us that he said no.
Daniel didn’t cave.
He kept his standard.
Behind Daniel’s opposition is this background. The food Daniel and the other captives were served was had first been offered to the Babylonian gods (end of verse 2). It was the custom to offer the god’s food first and then serve it to the people.
This food additionally would not have been prepared in a way that honored the laws/rules of Daniel’s God.
So Daniel, knowing this, believing in his heart that such food would defile him resists. He won’t eat it. His fence is drawn.
"But Daniel - you’re away from home now."
"You’re parents won’t know."
"Most of the other captives are eating it." It didn’t matter - it wasn’t right. He wasn’t going to compromise.
Let me make my first observation-
Daniel had an uncommon standard - v. 8a
Daniel - even though the other best of the best classmates of his had no problem with the food and drink.
Daniel would not join them. He had an uncommon standard.
Is not the same needed today?
To live God aligned.
God surrendered?
To live within the calling and love of God is to live a life with uncommon standards.
Your friends may not get it.
Those of you with an unbelieving spouse or unbelieving parent - they look at you and shake their heads sometimes. But you have your standards.
Do you desire to live a righteous life? If you do you seek to live according to an uncommon standard.
Notice secondly - Daniel’s unashamed boldness, v. 8b. (read)
Daniel approached the chief official and told him his request.
Told him his standard.
Notice in verse 11, he continues to do this-
11 and 12a - "please test" us.
I call this thirdly unhindered persistence. When the Guard begins to say no to Daniel’s request in v. 9 and 10. When the guard says that he could be killed if he listened to Daniel. Daniel presses on. He displays his commitment to this uncommon standard
through unashamed boldness
and unhindered persistence.
Verse 12 - notice fourthly his unblemished faith (read 12-14).
"Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 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." So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.
Now Daniel sets the menu.
Daniel is calling the shots.
We can’t eat the wine and food of the King.
We want veggies and water.
And here’s the faith part. Compare us with our friends who eat off the table at the King and you be the judge.
Now that’s faith.
Daniel will not compromise.
This is not a gray area for him.
Now not only did this get the attention of Ashpenaz - the chief of the court officials and the Guard, but Daniel’s actions got someone else’s attention as well.
His God’s - our God’s.
As Daniel demonstrated his
Uncommon standard.
His unashamed boldness.
His unhindered persistence
And his unblemished faith.
His God and our God responded with
An unearthly protection.
Unearthly peace.
Unmeasurable blessing.
And unmeasurable influence.
The first response of God - unearthly protection, v. 9
When Daniel in verse 8 makes known his uncommon standard his refusal to eat food and drink from the King’s table, the Lord stepped in with an unearthly protection. (read v. 9)
God changed the official’s heart.
God moved in the life of a man who should have killed Daniel for such a request and causes him instead to show favor and sympathy.
Notice as well, God gives to Daniel an unearthly peace. In verses 12, 13, 14, when Daniel comes up with his veggies and water meal plan, Daniel is serious about this and confident that his God will come through. He has a peace, a peace that only God can provide.
Thirdly - God responds to Daniel with unmeasurable blessings, v. 15, 16, 17, read.
At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.
Verse 17-20,
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.
At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. 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.
The blessings - Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah were
healthier and better nourished
further along in their studies
able to out perform their classmates
None were equal
None. God had given them unmeasurable blessings. God was faithful.
One last way God responded - unmeasurable influence. -verse 21.
Daniel comes to serve alongside the high officials for 70 years.
70 years.
For 70 years this man with an
Uncommon standard.
Unashamed boldness.
Unhindered persistence.
And unblemished faith was given the opportunity to be an influence for our God in hostile territory.
Friends - a few things.
1. Wherever God places you.
Wherever you go.
If it be friendly soil or in captivity in a foreign land.
Whether it be at home
Work
On an errand
Wherever
Hold to - stick with - Don’t compromise your Godly standards.
2. Whoever you are with
Newcomers or long time friends.
People you’ll never see again or may see again tomorrow.
Don’t change your standards.
Keep them high.
These moments will be the defining moments of your life.
3. One last thing, it is easiest to set and keep your Godly standard at the very beginning. Saying "no" is easiest at the beginning,
When first offered.
When first put in a difficult place.
Saying No immediately lets everyone know your uncommon standard.
For Daniel it was in verse 8 of chapter 1.
Daniel will not compromise from the very beginning.
If you read to the end of Daniel, to the very last verse, you’ll read these words.
Daniel 12:13, the last verse, the last words Daniel hears are from a messenger God sends.
His words to Daniel. (read v. 13)
Friends, as you and I live within the moral boundaries God sets for our own good and for the good of all of his creation. As we hold to this uncommon standard with boldness
Persistence
And faith
Know that at the end of the hard times when this life has ended,
"You will rise to receive your allotted inheritance."
*All but 1 of the points have been taken from a sermon by Dr. John MacArthur - Grace to You The Uncompromising Life, Daniel 1
