LIVING FOR GOD IN A SECULAR WORLD
Daniel 1:1-21
Introduction: Recent Supreme Court Rulings
• List of Supreme Court Rulings
• We live in a world driven by public opinion and public opinion does not always line up with what God’s word to us.
Question: How do we hold biblical values, and live them out in the public square, while working for companies or individuals who are pressured to position themselves as a ‘tolerant’ in the current politically correct climate?
• We have all heard the phrase that says Christians are to be in the world but not of it.
• This belief is drawn from Jesus prayer in John 17.
I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.
John 17:14-15
• Believers in Jesus Christ are simply in the world—physically present—but not of it, not part of its values.
Transition: Living for God in a secular world is not always easy.
• However, no matter how difficult our environment God has promised to help us.
• Let’s look at a person in the Bible who determined to live for God in a hostile environment.
Scripture: Daniel 1:1-8
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 into the king’s service 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 those who were chosen 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. 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.
I. DANIEL’S ENVIRONMENT WAS HOSTILE TO HIS FAITH. (DANIEL 1:3-5)
1 Let’s take a look at Daniel’s story
• Daniel had been forcibly removed from Israel and taken to Babylon to serve the king of Babylon.
• Daniel had it better than most Israelites. He was given an opportunity for a new life in Babylon.
• If he kept his head down and worked hard Daniel had the opportunity to serve in the government of the King who had brought him to Babylon.
2 Danger in the midst of opportunity.
• Daniel was isolated from the people and worship of God.
• Daniel was being indoctrinated into a new way of thinking.
• Daniel was tempted with the riches of the new life in order to make separation from his old life less painful.
• Daniel was confused about his real purpose and identity in life
Transition: The way we think determines the way we live!
II. DANIEL DETERMINED NOT TO BECOME ABSORBED INTO HIS NEW ENVIRONMENT.
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.
Daniel 1:8
1 Daniel decided in his heart to follow God
But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15
• We must decide early to follow God – Don’t wait until later to decide.
• Daniel’s decision would serve him well through the administrations of 2 world empires in good and bad times
2 Daniel in the lion’s Den
• Even Daniel, whose work ethic and service could not be questioned, was a target for those who could only find fault in his faith.
“At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, ‘We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God’”
Daniel 6:4-5
3 Daniel followed God graciously.
• He didn’t have a 2 year old fit but was polite and gracious with the man who was responsible for his training.
• 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 compassion 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,
“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.”
Daniel 1:12-13
• This reminds me of Peter’s words to the early church.
"Do not fear what they fear ; do not be frightened." {15} But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, {16} keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
1 Pet 3:14-16
Transition: Daniel expected God to come through for him so he didn’t need to push his own way. He simply asked for an opportunity for God to show up.
III. GOD HONORED DANIEL’S FAITH
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 into his service, 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.
Daniel 1:15-16, 19
1 Daniel and his friends responded better than any of the others
• Water and vegetables apparently agreed with them.
• They did so well that all the candidates were required to follow their diet.
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16
Transition: Could it be possible that God could honor our faith without us being obnoxious Bible thumpers?
• God honored Daniel because Daniel honored God!
Applications from Daniels’s Life
1. Resolve to follow God in spite of the pressure around you.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
(Rom 12:2 NIV)
• J.B. Phillips translates Romans 12:2 this way
Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.
• Eugene Peterson translates it this way.
Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it.
Romans 12:2
2. Look for friends who can support you in your faith.
• Daniel had Godly friends in Shadrach/Meshach/Abednego who later on would go through their own fiery trial.
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: {10} If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! {11} Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? {12} Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
(Eccl 4:9-12 NIV)
Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."
(1 Cor 15:33 NIV)
3 Guard your Heart
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
Luke 6:45
Conclusion: I want to return to the question I shared at the beginning of this message.
• Question: How do we hold biblical values, and live them out in the public square, while working for companies or individuals who are pressured to position themselves as a ‘tolerant’ in the current politically correct climate?
• How do we live for God in the secular workplace? - Dare to be a Daniel!
