LIVING LOYALLY
DANIEL 3
TODAY IS LOYALTY DAY. LOYALTY IS MORE THAN JUST BEING ACQUAINTED OR SIMPLY DOING BUSINESS WITH EACH OTHER. IN ORDER FOR STRONG RELATIONSHIPS TO BE BUILT THAT LEAD TO A CONSTANT STREAM OF TRUST, ONE HAS TO MAKE A CONSCIOUS DECISION TO BE LOYAL. LOYALTY MEANS FAITHFULNESS TO A GIVEN TASK, PERSON OR INSTITUTION..
LOYALTY MEANS CONSISTENT PARTICIPATING.
LOYALTY MEANS NEVER ACTING IN A MANNER THAT EMBARRASSES OR DEMEANS THOSE TO WHOM ONE IS LOYAL.
LOYALTY MEANS BEING HONEST- EVEN WHEN ITS HARD TO DO SO.
LOYALTY MEANS SEEKING ONE’S HIGHEST GOOD BY BEING A PART OF THE SOLUTION NOT A PART OF THE PROBLEM. PERHAPS THE RELEVANT QUESTION COULD WELL BE……..WHAT OR WHO ARE YOU LOYAL TO? JOSIAH ROYCE WROTE IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN THOUGHT FOUND IN THE HARVARD ARCHIVES SUGGESTS THAT “BUT THE HIGHEST GOOD, THE MOST BLESSED STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS FOR A GIVEN CLASS OF BEINGS, MIGHT CONCEIVABLY BE DIFFERENT FROM THE HIGHEST GOOD FOR ANOTHER CLASS OF BEINGS. FOR THE MATHEMATICIAN AND FOR THE POET, FOR THE LABORING MAN AND FOR THE STUDENT, FOR THE STATESMAN AND FOR THE HERMIT, THE HIGHEST GOOD SEEMS TO VARY. IF IT BE ACTUALLY THE SAME FOR ALL, YOU CAN PROVE IT TO BE THE SAME ONLY BY SOME KNOWLEDGE OF THE PHYSICAL OR METAPHYSICAL LAWS OF THE WORLD. BUT DUTY, WHEN YOU HAVE ONCE CLEARLY DEFINED DUTY, IS ABSOLUTELY THE SAME FOR ALL MEN AND FOR ALL CONCEIVABLE MORAL AGENTS, THE SAME FOR ALL BEINGS THAT CAN UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF DUTY. IN OTHER WORDS, “ONE MAN’S MEAT, MAY WELL BE ANOTHER MAN’S POISON.” TO BOW DOWN WOULD BE MEAT TO THE WORSHIPPERS OF BAAL, BUT TO THE HEBREW BOYS,..IT WOULD BE POISON.
THE SETTING:
SOON AFTER THEIR CAPTURE, DANIEL AND OTHER SELECTED ISRAELITE CAPTIVES WERE GIVEN NEW NAMES WHICH WOULD IDENTIFY THEM AS CITIZENS OF BABYLON. THIS WAS AN ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THEIR IDENTITIES AS CHILDREN OF GOD. IT IS ALWAYS THE ENEMY’S DESIRE TO REMOVE OUR GODLY IDENTITIES. THE KING’S THE PSYCHOLOGICAL VALUE OF STRIPPING THEM OF THEIR OLD IDENTITIES. HIS INTENT WAS THAT THESE SELECT MEN BE TAUGHT TO THINK AND LIVE LIKE THE BABYLONIANS. AND NOT LIKE HEBREWS. (AS A MAN THINKETH, SO IS HE). THEIR NEW NAMES WOULD BE A CONSTANT REMINDER OF THE BABYLONIAN GODS. DANIEL MEANS "GOD IS MY JUDGE," BUT HIS BABYLONIAN NAME BELTESHAZZAR MEANS "PRINCE OF BAAL." AS DANIEL HEARD HIS NAME CALLED DAY AFTER DAY, IT WAS INTENDED TO REMIND HIM THAT THE GOOD TIMES, COMFORT, AND HIGH POSITION HE ENJOYED IN HIS NEW SOCIETY WERE ALL THE RESULTS OF HIS BEING "THE PRINCE OF BAAL." IT WAS THEIR INTENT TO ERASE THEIR COGNITIVE AND ENCULTURATED TRAITS. BUT GOD DOES NOT WANT US TO RETURN TO THE EGYPTS IN OUR LIVES! GOD DOES NOT WANT US TO EXIST WITH A SLAVE MENTALITY TOWARDS THE WORLD!
THESE SELECT ISRAELITES WERE SEPARATED FROM FELLOWSHIP WITH THE PEOPLE OF GOD AND GIVEN A THREE-YEAR TRAINING COURSE IN THE CUSTOMS AND LANGUAGE OF THEIR NEW COUNTRY. THUS, SATAN ATTEMPTED TO SEDUCE THEM INTO THE LIFESTYLE OF THE WORLD BEFORE THEY WOULD EVENTUALLY SERVE IN THE KING’S PALACE (DANIEL 1:4).
BUT, THE PEOPLE OF GOD THINK DIFFERENTLY THAN THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD BECAUSE THEIR LIVES ARE GOD-CENTERED. THE FOUR YOUNG ISRAELITES REMAINED LOYAL TO THE GOD OF ABRAHAM. THEIR FIRST CONCERN WAS TO PLEASE THE LORD. THEY WERE DETERMINED TO LIVE ON A HIGHER LEVEL.
SIX OBSERVATIONS ABOUT LIVING LOYALLY TO GOD:
1. LIVING LOYAL TO GOD WILL GO AGAINST POPULAR BELIEFS – VS. 6
THE POPULAR THING TO DO WAS TO GO ALONG WITH WHAT EVERYONE ELSE WAS DOING. BEING LOYAL IN OUR WALK WITH GOD WILL OFTENTIMES GO AGAINST POPULAR BELIEFS.
AS BELIEVERS, AS SPIRIT FILLED BELIEVERS, WE ACTUALLY DARE TO BELIEVE THE WORD, WE STILL BELIEVE IN MIRACLES, WE STILL BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, WE STILL BELIEVE THAT GOD WORKS MIRACLES TODAY. WE BELIEVE THAT IF GOD DID THOSE THINGS THEN THAT HE IS THE SAME TODAY AND CAN STILL DO THEM TODAY.WE STILL BELIEVE THAT GOD IS NOT A MAN, AND THAT HE CANNOT LIE. AS A MATTER OF FACT, HEBREWS 6:18 SAYS IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD TO LIE. WAS GOD WILLING TO ALLOW THE ENEMY TO MAKE HIS WORD ANY LESS THAN TRUSTWORTHY? THEIR VERY LIVES WERE AT STAKE. THEIR BELIEF SYSTEM WAS CHALLENGED. THEIR VALUES WERE ON THE LINE AS THE THREAT OF DEATH LOOMED ABOVE THEM.
LIVING LOYALLY WILL AT TIMES DEFY EVEN OTHER “CHRISTIAN’ THOUGHTS SIMPLY BECAUSE IT GOES AGAINST “TRADITION”. GOD HAS NOT PROMISED US “TRADITION” BUT HE HAS PROMISED “SALVATION”.. IT WILL GO AGAINST “TRADITION”.
LIVING LOYALLY TO GOD IS NOT ABOUT CONFORMING TO THE TRADITIONS OF MAN BUT TO THE STANDARD OF THE WORD OF ALMIGHTY GOD. THERE IS ALWAYS A COST OF OUR DISCIPLESHIP AND FROM TIME TO TIME, THAT “COST” AND OUR DEFIANCE OF WORLDLY STANDARDS MOVES US OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONES. CAN WE BE BOLD ENOUGH IN HIM NOT TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK ABOUT US AND OUR GOD NO MATTER WHAT THE COST? REMEMBER, WE ARE IN THE WORLD, BUT NOT “OF” THE WORLD.
2. LIVING LOYALLY INVOKES OPPOSITION – VS. 8-13
NOT ONLY WILL YOU GO AGAINST POPULAR BELIEFS, BUT BECAUSE OF OUR LOYAL STANCE, WE WILL INVITE OPPOSITION. THERE WILL BE THOSE WHO DO NOT LIKE WHAT YOU BELIEVE AND WILL DO WHAT THEY CAN TO SILENCE YOU, DISCREDIT YOU, PAINT YOU OUT TO BE SOME TYPE OF “HOLY ROLLER OR AN ODD BALL”. BUT WHAT DOES IT PROFIT A MAN TO GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD AND YET, LOSE HIS SOUL?
WHENEVER YOU FACE OPPOSITION, YOU ARE EXPOSED TO YOUR ENEMIES. NOT ONLY WILL YOU BE EXPOSED TO YOUR ENEMIES, BUT YOU WILL ALSO FIND OUT WHO YOUR TRUE FRIENDS ARE! THE HEBREW BOYS WERE MARKED MEN. WHENEVER YOU LIVE LOYAL TO GOD, WE ARE AUTOMATICALLY “MARKED” BY THE ENEMY OF OUR SOUL.
JESUS SAID IN JOHN 15:20 – “ IF THEY PERSECUTED ME THEY WILL PERSECUTE YOU ALSO”. JAMES 1: 2-4 REMINDS US THAT WHENEVER WE FACE TRIALS AND PERSECUTION DON’T THINK IT STRANGE. WE SHOULD RATHER EXPECT IT TO HAPPEN. GOD HAS NOT CALLED CHRISTIANS TO “BLEND IN”, BUT TO “STAND OUT”.
WE DO NOT WAGE WAR SPIRITUALLY THE WAY THE WORLD DOES IN THE FLESH. THIS DOESN’T MEAN THAT WE ARE “DOORMATS” EITHER.
OUR CHIEF WEAPON IN THE SPIRIT REALM IS THROUGH PRAYER. AS WE PRAY AND SEEK THE FACE OF GOD WE CAN OVERCOME, JUST AS JESUS PROMISED~
3. LIVING LOYALLY WILL PRODUCES TEMPTATIONS TO COMPROMISE – VS. 14-15
THE EASIEST WAY OUT OF A MESS IS BY CHOOSING THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE! BUT WE ARE CALLED TO “SUBMIT TO GOD, RESIST THE DEVIL, AND THEN HE WILL FLEE FROM US”. BUT THE TRUE TEST OF OUR CHARACTER AND INTEGRITY IS WHO YOU ARE IN PUBLIC BUT WHO WE ARE IN PRIVATE.
IF THEY JUST WENT ALONG WITH WHAT THEY HAD BEEN COMMANDED TO DO BY AN EARTHLY KIND THEY COULD HAVE AVOIDED THE FURNACE. AFTER ALL, THEY COULD BOW DOWN BUT NOT REALLY MEAN IT. BUT BOWING DOWN WAS TANTAMOUNT TO HAVING ANOTHER GOD, AND THEY WOULD NOT BREAK GOD’S COMMANDMENTS!
WHEN WE DECIDE THAT WE ARE GOING TO LIVE LOYALLY THERE COMES A GREATER DEGREE OF INTEGRITY THAT IS REQUIRED AS WELL.
I PETER 2:12 – “LIVE SUCH GOOD LIVES AMONG THE PAGANS THAT, THOUGH THEY ACCUSE YOU OF DOING WRONG, THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD DEEDS AND GLORIFY GOD ON THE DAY HE VISITS US”.
WE MUST RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO LOWER OUR SPIRITUAL STANDARDS. WE MUST RESIST THE EFFORTS TO MAKE OUR LOVE OF GOD GROW COLD. MATTHER 24:12-13 REMINDS US OF THESE LAST DAYS OF TRIALS. “ BECAUSE OF THE INCREASE OF WICKEDNESS, THE LOVE OF MOST WILL GROW COLD. BUT HE WHO STANDS FIRM TO THE END WILL BE SAVED”.
4. LIVING LOYALLY WILL PRODUCE UNCOMMON BOLDNESS – VS. 16-18
THEY REFUSED TO GIVE IN TO UNGODLY DEMANDS! THEIR CONVICTIONS WERE GREATER THAN THE CONSEQUENCES!
LIVING LOYALLY PRODUCES A BOLDNESS THAT IS UNCOMMON. WHAT IS IT? IT IS THE BOLDNESS THAT COMES FROM THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. WHEN PETER AND JOHN WERE BEING PERSECUTED FOR HEALING A CRIPPLED MAN, WHEN THEY WERE BEING OPPOSED AND CHALLENGED AND QUESTIONED WHAT DID THEY DO? (ACTS 4:29) THEY PRAYED “NOW, LORD, CONSIDER THEIR THREATS AND ENABLE YOUR SERVANT TO SPEAK YOUR WORD WITH GREAT BOLDNESS”. THEY WERE PRAYING FOR THE COURAGE AND BOLDNESS TO SPEAK UP FOR GOD.
BOLDNESS IS A NEW DIMENSION THAT CAN ONLY BE REACHED BY LOYALLY TRAVELING THE ROAD OF FAITHFULNESS WITH GOD.
5. LIVING LOYALLY PRODUCES UNCOMMON RESULTS – VS. 24-27
THEY WERE THROWN INTO THE FURNACE. THEY DIDN’T ESCAPE IT. PLEASE NOTICE, THEY WERE NOT DELIVERED WHEN THEY WERE FIRST CHALLENGED! THEY WERE NOT DELIVERED AT THE SECOND ULTIMATUM! THEY HAD TO GO “INTO” THE FIRE TO BE DELIVERED! GOD DOES NOT ALWAYS KEEP US OUT OF THE FIRES OF LIFE, BUT HE ALWAYS DELIVERERS US, EVEN IF IT IS IN THE MIDST OF THE FIRE!
THE THREE HEBREW CHILDREN WENT INTO THE FIRE. BUT WHEN THE KING LOOKED IN HE DIDN’T SEE THREE PEOPLE, HE SAW FOUR AND THE FOURTH “LOOKS LIKE A SON OF THE GODS’ – VS. 25
WHEN YOU AND I DECIDE TO LIVE LOYALLY TO GOD, WE ARE MET BY GOD WITH UNCOMMON INTERVENTION IN OUR LIVES. WE SHOULD NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK GOD FOR OUR MIRACLES, BECAUSE GOD IS “OBLIGATED” TO KEEP HIS WORD! JAMES 4:8 SAYS – “COME NEAR TO GOD AND HE WILL COME NEAR TO YOU”. THAT SMACKS OF “INTIMACY”. THEY SPOKE WITH A BOLDNESS THAT WAS BORN OUT OF RELATIONSHIP. THEY WEREN’T SPEAKING OUT OF WISHFUL THINKING OR PRESUMPTION. THEY WERE SPEAKING OUT OF RELATIONSHIP! NO WONDER WE SING, “AND HE WALKS WITH ME AND HE TALKS WITH ME, AND TELLS ME I AM HIS OWN”. NO MATTER WHAT YOU ARE GOING THRU, NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES APPEAR TO BE, IN SPITE OF UNGODLY OPPOSITION THAT MAY COME OUR WAY, THE TEMPTATION TO COMPROMISE, THERE WILL BE, BORN OUT OF OUR INTIMATE WALK WITH GOD THE PRIVILEDGE OF ABIDING UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY! WE WILL BE VISITED WITH HIS SUPERNATURAL INTERVENTION THAT WILL SUSTAIN US IN THOSE DIFFICULT TIMES. THAT’S HOW THEY MADE IT THRU THE FIRE! IT WAS GOD’S SUPERNATURAL INTERVENTION! HAS ANYTHING SUPERNATURAL EVER OCCURRED IN YOUR LIFE?
6. LIVING LOYALLY WILL ELEVATE YOU – VS. 28-30
BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED THEY WERE PROMOTED TO A HIGHER LEVEL IN THE PROVINCE OF BABYLON. INSTEAD OF BEING BURNED UP, ASHAMED, DISGRACED, AND TAUNTED BY THE ENEMY, THEY WERE PROMOTED! ONLY GOD CAN MAKE OUR ENEMIES OUR FOOTSTOOLS!
NOT ONLY WERE THEY PROMOTED, BUT GOD WAS LIFTED UP IN THE MIDST OF THE ENEMY’S CAMP! WHEN WE ARE LOYAL TO HIM, GOD ALWAYS WORKS THINGS TOGETHER FOR OUR GOOD!
WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO LIVE ON A HIGHER LEVEL AND EXALT GOD IT WILL ELEVATE YOU TO HIGHER LEVELS.
FIRST THOUGH, GOD IS EXALTED. IN ALL THAT WE DO WE MUST EXALT GOD AND NOT OURSELVES. JESUS SAID IN MATTHEW 23:12 –“ FOR WHOEVER EXALTS HIMSELF WILL BE HUMBLED, AND WHOEVER HUMBLES HIMSELF WILL BE EXALTED”.I BELIEVE THAT GOD WANTS US TO LIVE LOYAL TO HIM BECAUSE AS WE DO OUR INFLUENCE AND TESTIMONY WILL INCREASE.
THAT’S ONE OF THE UNDERLYING MESSAGES OF THIS STORY, THAT GOD GETS THE GLORY! NO ONE COULD TAKE THE CREDIT FOR THEIR DELIVERANCE BUT GOD! GOD GOT THE GLORY OUT OF PHAROAH! GOD GOT THE GLORY OUT OF JERICHO! GOD GOT THE GLORY OUT OF CALVARY! ARE YOU WILLING TO LIVE LOYALLY SO THAT GOD CAN GET THE GLORY OUT OF YOU?
