OPEN YOUR BIBLES TO Daniel 1 & Romans 12:1-2
1. Navigating through the TEENAGE YEARS has become really hard and difficult for this generation.
2. Really it seems, more than any other in history.
a. The pressures, the temptations, the surroundings… all increasingly becoming harder & darker & more difficult.
b. Researchers have determined there are at least 7 UNIQUE PRESSURES facing this generation today.
#1 – CONSTANT MEDIA PRESSURE – previous generations didn’t have to deal with the massive overload of information coming through movies, music, video games, etc.
#2 – MORAL CHOICES FORCED AT AN EARLY AGE – Sex education is being forced upon kindergartners in some schools and at least one out of every 5 Jr. High Student has had sex.
#3 – HOPELESSNESS WHAT FUTURE?! – Kids are growing up wondering what the next 10 years will bring. Will they afford college? Will social security be there? Jobs?
#4 – SOCIETY WITH NO MORALS – the US has no more bearings of what right and wrong are. There are no common set of values.
#5 – INSTABLE OR NON-EXISTENT HOME LIFE – There are more definitions of what a home should look like than ever before. Marriage is being redefined, the roles of the mom, the dad, event the children are all under attack.
#6 – MORE FREEDOM – with the pressures on mom and dad too, more kids are able to run free and literally discipline themselves.
#7 – GET IT NOW SYNDROME – Since everything can be had instantly and without delay, kids are growing up without the ability to deal with pain and delay and denial. So they only demand more.
ADD TO THESE The enormous PEER PRESSURE that’s out there and you see, our kids, they need our time & attention & support.
Proverbs 22.6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
THAT’S NOT JUST for us as parents, but it’s also for us as a church…
• We have the responsibility to help TRAIN our kids.
• Literally, “dedicate, instruct, & prepare” them for the way they should go… the way of the Lord! Why?
Proverbs 14.12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
• There are many alternatives out there but the way is the way of death, destruction… devastation.
SO: TRAINING… INSTRUCTION… PREPARATION… Really, we all need that, not just the teenagers running around today.
• We ALL face pressures & stresses
• We live in a HOSTILE world. A world that does not know God, a society that does not honor God.
• The pressures you guys face as adults are very similar, even if we use different words to describe them.
• THIS world wants to press you into its mold… conform you to its image while stripping you of your spiritual foundations! Tough!
SO AS WE OPEN THIS FIRST CHAPTER… where is Daniel?
• He’s taken captive right in the middle of a HOSTILE WORLD.
• One of the best & brightest Israel had to offer, not captured
• AND Babylon then, like the world today, had a systematic way of brainwashing & Deprogramming their subjects.
• FIRST, they wanted to change their THINKING PATTERNS. Give them a new language, new studies, new values.
• NEXT, they changed their SOCIAL CUSTOMS. Trying to wine and dine them into enjoying the luxuries of life.
• FINALLY, they tried to change their RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS with new names and pagan idolatries.
NOTE: That’s very much how it works today. But we can resist.
Romans 12.1-2 (NLT) And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.
Romans 12.1-2 (NCV) So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship. 2 Do not change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.
• That’s really where we begin with 1:8… Daniel’s determination.
• The course of his life changed with ONE DAY OF PURPOSE
I. (1:8-16) PURPOSED DEPENDENCE
1. (8) IN his heart.
• With all these pressures, Daniel made a decision in his heart.
• It was internal, not external. His godly parents didn’t force him. It wasn’t his Jewish friends.
• Daniel made this decision in his heart, personally.
NOTE: That’s what we can expect from our Christian kids, purposed decisions in their hearts.
• That’s why we are training & instructing them, so that when the pressure is on, they are in the Lord! Going against the flow!
• This is a work of the Holy Spirit in their lives!
What was it with Daniel? He drew the line. OK, I’ll learn the language. I’ll learn the history. But I’m not defiling myself!
• I won’t eat anything sacrificed to pagan deities. Won’t do it!
• I won’t drink the wine and become drunk & out of control.
• I won’t sin against my God!
NOW… he could have said something different here. He had choices.
• Hmmm. I’m not with my family, they don’t know me here.
• They don’t’ know my religious heritage, or my God.
• Who will see me if I indulge a little? Who will know? GOD WILL.
• Whatever choices we make, God sees them.
Proverbs 15.3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.
THINK ABOUT IT HERE… a 15 year old young man has the world set before him… power, prestige, fame, possessions…
• And he PURPOSES IN HIS HEART not to defile himself!
• Why? Because he feared the Lord and wanted to honor God!
• The defiling here referred to the breaking of the dietary restrictions in Law. They decided to OBEY the Law of God.
DANIEL lived a life of integrity. He was the same in private as he was in public.
• He was the same no matter where he was or who he was before.
• Integrity brings consistency. Consistency brings constancy.
Sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny. Samuel Smiles (1812-1904)
There is a difference between REPUTATION & CHARACTER.
• OUR REPUTATION is what people think we are.
• OUR CHARACTER is what we really are! Daniel had character.
• He determined in his heart not to defile himself.
Q: Do you defile yourself? The books you read? The TV shows you watch? The magazines you buy? The places you surf on the net?
Gal. 5.9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
LEAVEN in the Bible speaks often of sin or evil. & just a little bit of it will contaminate the whole lump, whole loaf, whole life.
How did Daniel do it? How could he stand there as a teenager in a foreign land and great temptations?!
• He made his commitment in his heart, in the innermost part of his being. That was made him strong!
• The secret to going against the flow is not therapy sessions or singing or taking a opinion poll. It’s in the heart.
The story is told of a college professor who visited the Fiji Islands. Being an agnostic, he critically remarked to an elderly chief, "You’re a great leader, but it’s a pity you’ve been taken in by those foreign missionaries. They only want to get rich through you. No one believes the Bible anymore. People are tired of the threadbare story of Christ dying on a cross for the sins of mankind. They know better now. I’m sorry you’ve been so foolish as to accept their story."
The old chief’s eyes flashed as he answered, "See that great rock over there? On it we smashed the heads of our victims. Notice the furnace next to it? In that oven we formerly roasted the bodies of our enemies. If it hadn’t been for those good missionaries and the love of Jesus that changed us from cannibals into Christians, you’d never leave this place alive! You’d better thank the Lord for the Gospel; otherwise we’d already be feasting on you. If it weren’t for the Bible, you’d now be our supper! WOW!
NOW THAT would have never been possible had it not been for the determination and purpose of heart of a man named James Calvert
When James Calvert went out as a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands, the captain of the ship sought to turn him back. "You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages," he cried. Calvert only replied, "We died before we came here." He made the decision in his heart long ago!
2. (9-10) Favor with the leader.
a. God put a love for Daniel in the hearts of his supervisors!
b. Even though it could mean death for him, he heard Daniel out and we’ll see, gave him a shot at this!
NOTE: God can & will do the same for you… going before you.
Proverbs 16.7 When a man’s ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
NOW that doesn’t mean we won’t have hassles or trials.
• But it does mean that God has it all in control and can give you tremendous favor with those that are around you.
3. (11-14) A TEN DAY TEST.
a. Daniel asked for time and a godly test… Vegetables & water.
b. Really, he was asking for KOSHER FOOD…
DANIEL Had a DEPENDENCY UPON THE LORD. He wasn’t doing this in his own strength or wisdom.
• He was trusting that his God would meet him in this challenge to stay true to his convictions.
• BUT WHAT IF IT DIDN’T WORK? Would Daniel compromise?
• NO way. He had already purposed in his heart.
• BUT he’s taking a step of faith here trusting the Lord.
APP: It’s always an exciting thing to give God a chance to work.
• I believe that God wants us to be a part of what He is doing.
• God never stops working, so it’s important for us to discover what He wants to do, to step out, to test the waters.
• I have found that the way we discover how God wants to work is to venture out in faith.
• We need to step out and see what the Lord might do.
• Here’s Daniel, stepping out to see what that Lord might do!
4. (15-16) His Dedication was rewarded!
a. The Lord blessed them and rewarded their dependence.
Their PURPOSED DEPENDENCE led to a…
II. (1:17-21) POWERFUL TESTIMONY
1. (17-21) God gave them wisdom.
a. When we give God our energy, our talents, our abilities, God will not be a debtor to us.
b. He will give back to you exceedingly abundantly more than can be counted. He will bless you for obedience!
I think of the disciples who gave Jesus their boat so that He might use it to teach from…
• Then the little boy who had just a few loaves & fish. Jesus took it and broke it and blessed thousands with it.
And now these young men here were tremendously blessed. Jump to v20, where we read… they were 10 times better than anyone else!
• Not only favor with God, but also favor with man!
THE TRUTH IS that ‘you can’t out give God’. He’s able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we can think or ask!
SO LISTEN CAREFULLY… those of you who are younger here and those who have parenting responsibilities.
• One of the greatest lies of Satan is to try to get kids to think that if you try to serve the Lord, you’re going to be unpopular.
• You’re going to stand out and regret that decision!
• That if you stand up for Jesus at work, you’ll be fired.
• That if you stand up for Jesus at school, you’ll fail the class.
• Now the failing and firing might be true… but the real lie is that if you stay quiet, all is well. It’s NOT all well gang.
Matthew 5.13-16 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Here before us are these 4 young men who stood for their God!
• & the reward was knowledge, skill, wisdom, & understanding!
• They refused to give into the pressures of the world and they reaped the reward!
• Look again at v19. NONE WAS FOUND LIKE THEM! NONE!
How do we get there? One DAY OF PURPOSE.
Added to another day of purpose, and another day.
• As we watch the days become weeks, the weeks become months, the months become years, and the years a lifetime and a lifetime a legacy of godly purpose and spiritual determination.
IT’S A PURPOSE in our hearts to not defile ourselves with he world, the world system, the temptations of life.
1 John 2.15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Daniel had a firm foundation: He knew the Word and the Word knew him. It guided and led him in all decisions.
In v21, we see Daniel was mightily used of God his whole life!
• From 605BC to 536 BC, Daniel influenced the nation.
• God used him because he purposed in his heart to serve the Lord. Let’s close with 2 Chronicles 16.9
2 Chronicles 16.9 "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars."
OH may the Lord find that man, that woman, all among us. True commitment. True Surrender. True Rewards!
