* Daniel - Sold Out – Faith & Loyalty [3]

 

And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king's delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king.  Daniel 1:5

Instead of giving them what some would have thought good enough for captives, he offered them the very best the kingdom had to give.  Subliminally acclimating them to their new environment.

Although the provisions made by the king were generous, Daniel and his companions had a problem on their hands. The food and drink, especially that favored by heathen kings, consisted of much that they couldn’t eat or drink without disobeying God. The diet was contrary to the dietary rules ordained by God according to Deuteronomy 14 and Leviticus 11.  Also, some portion of the ‘delicacies’ most likely had been offered in sacrifice to the idols of Babylon. So, eating it may have represented a kind of communion service with the Babylonian gods.
 
If you were in this situation, what would you have done? Everybody else apparently went along with the program. Why should we be different? Why should we make waves? The beginning of the subliminal acclimation; make us feel comfortable, warm and fuzzy.  After all, they were captives in a foreign land; probably being treated better there than in their own home. So why shouldn’t they be happy about the treatment they were being offered? Besides, what could they do? They had no leverage with the powers that were. Unless God Himself should give it, they had no power and no influence.  They were just young adolescents  

 But they did have one thing:  Faith in their God!

 How easy it would have been to rationalize the situation, to say, “There’s nothing we can do. Let’s just go with the flow and make the best of a bad situation. After all, God will understand.”

 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore, he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.  Daniel 1:8
 
Understand that the real issue was not the food and drink, but loyalty to God and standing firm in our faith. Food and drink were only the outward manifestations of this issue:

è     Will they be obedient and loyal to God no matter what the cost to themselves?

è      Or will they bow down to the will of man?

è      Will they compromise their position with God for earthly favors?

è      Will they use the difficulty of their circumstance as an excuse for disobedience?

 We are talking about being sold out to God; our faith and loyalty to the one we call our heavenly father!  Daniel and his friends had already made their decision. They, like every one of us must also do, answered Joshua’s challenge.

“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . .” Joshua 24:15

Every one of us has a choice to make. Either we’ll serve the gods of this world, or we’ll serve the LORD? 

"No one can serve two masters; . . . he’ll will hate the one and love the other, or else he’ll be loyal to the one and despise the other. Matthew 6:24

Which is the same as saying that you cannot serve both God and the world - you have to make a choice. The issue is not tradition – the way we’ve always done it [and sometimes don’t even no why] or legalism – the excessive adherence to the law verses faith. The issue is loyalty to God versus obedience to men or compromise for convenience’s sake.  This is full surrender to God; being sold out, even at what may appear to be great personal loss. The decision that Daniel and his companions made could have cost them everything. But that was a price they were willing to pay. This is real living faith in action, believing in their God and being sold out; fully committed to Him despite the cost.

Let’s not forget, faith is not so much what we say or profess or how we feel or what we think. Words and feelings come cheap. Faith is what we live.
 
Every profession of faith is worthless if it is not lived. Either we trust God to be able to handle every situation, no matter how hopeless it may appear to be, or we compromise saying, “God will understand, He knows the situation I’m in, What else could I have done?”  But, the life we live, especially when things look the most desperate, will tell if our faith is true or false. A person will live the faith they have.  

It's our faithfulness in the things that we most often consider to be small and trivial that is the true test of our character. If we’re not faithful in that which we consider to be a small matter - if we compromise on the little things in our life - we won’t be true when the big tests of life come our way. It’s not so easy to change the course of our life when the crisis comes. The way we lived when things were easy is [more likely than not] the way we’ll go when the going gets tough.

Easy words to say; words come cheap. But when we face an overwhelming situation that literally staggers our faith, what do we do? There’s a little prayer in the Bible that we should always keep in mind. Short, simple, but very effective, and Daniel and his friends may very well have prayed something like it.

"Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"  Mark 9:24

 They stepped out on the faith they had and trusted God with the rest. They decided to seek God and his kingdom above all else, and trust God to provide them with the food and drink that they needed. This is real faith. A quiet determination to follow God no matter where, no matter what. Trusting God in every situation.  Sounds like what Jesus said:

"Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”  Matthew 6:31-33

So, Daniel and those like-minded stepped out and asked that they only be given the type of food and drink they were accustomed to in their native land:

Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, "I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king." So Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. "Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king's delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants."  Daniel 1:9-13

Daniel and his companions didn’t allow their convictions to make them discourteous. A lesson in life that many of us Christians could use today. But rather, they very politely requested from the proper authority permission to be served a simple vegetarian diet.
 
Even though God had “given up” the kingdom of Israel as a whole, He still stood by individuals who trusted, believed and were loyal to Him. God stood by Daniel and his companions even in their captivity - and God still stands by His people today.  He’s waiting for His children to  

¨  humble themselves, and

¨  pray, and

¨  seek Him, and

¨  turn from their wicked ways;

 then will I hear from heaven . . .  2 Chronicles 7:14

Because of their faith and loyalty, “God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs."  And not only that, “God gave” Daniel and his friends learning and skill in all letters and wisdom.
 
So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days. And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king's delicacies. Thus the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.  Daniel 1:14-15
 
Our God is a God who gives. Service to God is never a loss, no matter what the circumstances. But it is forever a gain to those who believe. The knowledge and skill that Daniel and his friends possessed was not theirs by their own ability, but was given them by God.
 
Now at the end of the days, when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 Then the king interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore, they served before the king. 20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm.  Daniel 1:18
 
They were better than everybody else in their field, but don’t miss the point -- The reason they were better was not that they were naturally superior to everybody else, but because it was a God given gift.
 
God gives no guarantee that things will go smooth and easy for us in this life. And you can be sure that the devil is out to make absolutely sure that it doesn’t.

 “But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."  1 Corinthians 2:9

Trials and tribulations we will have in this world. But what is the very worse that the world can do to us in comparison with the glories of heaven?   Apostle Paul said:  

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.  Romans 8:18 

No doubt, we will have troubles and trials; some of us are going through right now.  But these are not to be the focus of our thoughts. Don’t dwell on all the evils, all the injustices, all the wrongs in this world. The Bible counsels us with these words:

Keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always.  Philippians 4:8

And to that

Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Romans 12:12

Sermonette

* A Defeated People [2]

“not as I will, but as You will.”  Matthew 26:39

God’s chastisement of the children of Israel by allowing them to be delivered into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon occurred due to their disobedience.  This was done after years of blatant disobedience and refusing to only serve the one true living God.  It never works out when we try to serve 2 masters.  God will not be underserved.  He had already let them know that they were to:

Destroy their altars and pillars, and cut down their sacred poles . . . He said don’t worship any god except for Me. My name is Jealous, and I am a jealous God.  Exodus 34:14

But they did exactly what God explicitly told them not to do.  If we go back to Hosea where God is grieving their backslidden state and look at Hosea 11:7. Look at these two phrases from that verse: 

And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him.

• “My people are bent on backsliding from Me and  
• none at all would exalt him.” 

Do you see the contrast? Hell bent on backsliding, hell bent on going their own way and doing their own thing, while at the same time presuming to call on the Most High for things beyond their control even though they refused to exalt God.  They, just like us today, want all the many benefits of God without wholly submitting our allegiance to Him.  We want all the promises without doing anything to get them.  That’s being presumptuous.  We’ll acknowledge Him in the church; stay in touch in case we need Him and, in the meantime, we’ll do things our way.  Happy as a lark; thinking they have the best of two worlds; serving 2 masters; forgetting all about the fact that God said "I’m a jealous God."
 
The church is doing the same thing today; has a justification for every single worldly standard they want to indulge in and the biblical standards they don’t want to indulge in.  Both then and now, they needed to understand what happened to their forefathers in the wilderness and now we too should take heed to that and the message God had for the church of the Laodiceans – He said: 

I know your works. You are neither cold with apathy nor hot with passion. It would be better if you were one or the other, but you are neither.  So because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.  Revelation 3:15-16

Truly we have a work of repentance before us. At Laodicea, we see a people complacent, and self-satisfied in their presumed relationship with God, and yet clearly, they were blissfully going astray - and like the nation of Israel before them, in danger of being cast out from the presence of God.
 
After a period of time God did eventuality deliver Israel from the Babylonian captivity.  That’s because as bad as things are, God is longsuffering for those who are willing to humble themselves and receive his counsel.   The church of Laodicea was encouraged to change their lukewarm, lackluster, lackadaisical ways and return fully to God.

But in the case of the Israelites of the Old Testament time; after all the warnings and little to no change, when no more could be done for them in the northern kingdom, God finally gave Israel up, and its people were scattered.  You’d think Israel’s captivity would have been a wakeup call for Judah; the southern kingdom, instead it was a lesson that fell on deaf ears and blind eyes, and in the course of time they sank to even greater depths of apostasy [in this case the abandonment of their loyalty to God] even more than what Israel did. 

And their sins back then could very well come straight out of today’s headlines.  All of the confusion, the false worship including sexual promiscuity, alternative sexual lifestyles, fraud; just throwing up any old thing to God and thinking nothing of it, the manipulation of the people and blatant disregard for others.  All of this going on today and guess what, I’m talking about in the church!  If you didn’t know better, you’d think we were talking about the world – but this is exactly what’s going on in the church!  Apostle Paul let us know: 
 
everything written in the days of old was recorded to give us instructions for living. We find encouragement through the Scriptures and a call to perseverance that will produce hopeful living.  Romans 15:4

We do well to learn the lesson. God said to Isaiah, 
 
"Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.”  Isaiah 58:1
 
Notice that despite their sinful state, God says: “Tell My people.” This is not a call to point fingers at others and tell them how bad they are. This is a call for preachers to speak plainly to the church; to their churches; stop sugar-coating God’s word and justifying sin. It’s a call-to-call sin by its right name and renounce it.

  
Prophet after prophet appealed to the southern kingdom of Judah as others had appealed to the northern kingdom of Israel. Micah, Isaiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Jeremiah and others offered pardon in exchange for repentance - but they preached to the wind.  God told Ezekiel:

"Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'  Ezekiel 33:11
 
Who’s crying out today?  It’s time for the body of Christ to have a “come to Jesus moment”, get right with God and shed the light to this sin-sick darkened world. 

 

Whether the church or the world hears or not, we are still to present:

u      Christ Crucified, 

u      the living hope, 

u   the only power to turn from sin and death to righteousness and life. 

Just like the prophets of old, we may be preaching to the wind, but we’re still to lift up Jesus to the church and before a dying world, tell them that there is power in His blood to wash away all sin. Like Daniel and the 3 Hebrew boys, some will hear.  But to those who don’t, we can take a lesson from what happened to the southern Kingdom: 
 
And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy. Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand.  2 Chronicles 36:15-17
 
When God “gives up” a person or nation it is not so much that God has separated Himself from them, but rather it is they who have separated themselves from Him.

Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.  Isaiah 59:1

God doesn’t leave us, we leave Him.  We disconnect ourself from him.  Our response should be repentance with godly sorrow; turning away from our ungodly ways and clinging to the only hope we have which is Christ Jesus.
 
What is the secret of staying true to God in a world where every influence that surrounds us screams for compromise?  How do you stay true to God in a world that is more than ready to rationalize away the truths of God’s word, and give us every reason or excuse we could ever possibly need to sooth our conscience as we slowly let go of God and embrace the world?  The bible says:

The one who faithfully manages the little he has been given will be promoted and trusted with greater responsibilities. But those who cheat with the little they have been given will not be considered trustworthy to receive more.  Luke 16:10
 
It's our faithfulness in the things that we most often consider to be small and trivial that is the true test of our character. If we’re not faithful in that which we consider to be a small matter - if we compromise on the little things in our life - Jesus says we won’t be true when the big tests of life come our way. It’s not so easy to change the course of our life when the crisis comes. The way we lived when things were easy is [more likely than not] the way we’ll go when the going gets tough.

The book of Daniel [Chapter 1, verse 1] began with defeat. God’s chosen people found themselves defeated and in subjection to a pagan nation, their cities destroyed, and they themselves carried away as captives into a foreign land. But it does end on a note of victory as God works behind the scene with some young men that stayed true to God.  In versus 3-4, we’re going to see Daniel’s role come to light; how he handled himself against the influences of the world.  I believe at some point, he must have read what Joshua said as they were settling in after their wilderness experience:

And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.  Joshua 24:15 

We all have a choice to make. Will we serve the gods of this world, or will we serve the LORD? Remember what Jesus said, 

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24

Which is the same as saying that we can’t serve both God and the world – we have to make a choice. The issue is not legalism verses faith. The issue is loyalty to God verses obedience to men and compromise for convenience sake. This is the time to say, 

“not as I will, but as You will.”  Matthew 26:39

- continued

Sermonette
 

A Defeated People -1

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard,

lest at any time we should let them slip.

Hebrews 2:1

Even though we see the church slip-sliding further and further from the truth of God, it’s no different than what happened in the days recorded in the Old Testament with God’s chosen as they allowed themselves to become acclimated to the world instead of to the standards of God. If we heed the warning of Apostle Paul, he tells us that

All the tests they endured on their way through the wilderness are a symbolic picture, an example that provides us with a warning so that we can learn through what they experienced. 2 Corinthians 10:11

This is why it is so crucial that we be all the more engaged and attentive to the truths that we have heard so that we do not drift off course.   

So, let’s take a look at a particular time when the children of Israel paid the consequences for their slip-sliding ways. The opening words of the book of Daniel is a record of defeat. The defeat of God’s chosen people by a pagan nation, Babylon. The bible tells us:

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it. Daniel 1:1

But Jerusalem’s defeat should not have come as a surprise to them. Prophet after prophet; Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, warned the people. For years they had given counsel, first on how to avoid such a fate, and when that was no longer possible, how to make the best of a bad situation. But the prophets preached to the wind. Twice the Israelites revolted against Babylonian rule, and twice the city would be captured by Nebuchadnezzar. And the Israelites found themselves more heavily oppressed each time. In the end, the city was burned; the citizens taken captive - and for that they had none but themselves to blame:

And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god. Daniel 1:2

King Nebuchadnezzar, the enemy of the children of Israel and definitely not a worshipper of God, attributed the success of the conquest to his gods, but the Bible sets the record straight. Jerusalem and Judea were conquered not because of the powers of any heathen gods, nor by the military ability of the Babylonian armies, but because, and only because, God GAVE the nation and the city to the Babylonians.

But how could God give His nation, His chosen people, into the power of a heathen king? As far as the Israelites had backslidden, were not the Babylonians even worse? So then, why did God allow Judah to be taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar? Jeremiah gives us the answer:

Has a nation changed its gods, Which are not gods? But My people have changed their Glory for what does not profit. Be astonished, O heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid; Be very desolate," says the LORD. "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns – broken cisterns that can hold no water. Jeremiah 2:11 - 13

The Bible tells us God had selected the Israelites in a special sense to be His people.

They were to be witnesses to the nations around them. They were to be a blessing to the world, a light in the darkness of this world. But they turned away from God, who alone is the source of light. They turned away from their only source of spiritual strength. Destitute, bereft of the power of the Spirit, destitute of the living waters, they could not fulfill God’s purpose for them. But nonetheless, they were loved by God, and it is written that those who God loves, he chastens.

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Revelation 3:19

The chastisement was severe, but then their case was desperate; they had all but turned their backs on God. But through it all (not withstanding their sins) they were in the hands of a loving God.

It was to Abraham that God first spoke of his purpose for His people. To Abraham God said, speaking not only of Abraham but also of his spiritual descendants:

I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. Genesis 12: 2

“And you shall be a blessing.” But in order to be the blessing God desired them to be, the Israelites, would of necessity, have to live in harmony with His laws, walking in His light, walking in His Spirit - seeking to reflect His pure and gracious character. Most of us today want to be blessed, not be a blessing. But what does the bible say about being a blessing:

Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' Matthew 25:34 – 40

But God does not compel obedience. He does not compel us to be the blessing He desires us to be. He leaves us as He left the Israelites to make our own choice. And sadly the greatest desire of the Israelites was to be just like the nations around them. Just like today, we want to be saved but we want to do it our way; we want to be as close to the world as we can; one foot in and one foot out. But God said,

So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Revelation 3:16

The Israelites, just like us today, ignored this and went their own way; bickering and squabbling they split into two rival kingdoms, each in their own way hell bent on turning from God. The northern kingdom [known as the Kingdom of Israel or Samaria] almost immediately sunk into idol worship when their king had two golden calves made for the people to worship. The southern kingdom [known as Judea], hung on a little bit longer; still giving lip-service to God, but in time also sunk to open idol worship, even setting up pagan altars and idols within the temple grounds itself.

But God didn’t immediately “give up” Israel. For years He sent prophet after prophet after prophet to both the northern and southern kingdoms offering complete pardon if only the people would repent; offering mercy; just as He does with us today; giving us the opportunity to get it right, to return to Him; to serve Him as He desires. He gives us opportunities to tear down our idols.

We think in our lukewarm state that because God loves us and we’re doing a little bit of what He desires, that we’re alright. Doing a little bit is not enough. Thank God, He provides us with an out. No matter how lukewarm or cold we may be the prescription is the same. God shows no partiality; Peter said:

Now I know for certain that God doesn’t show favoritism with people but treats everyone on the same basis. Acts 10:34

They may have been His chosen people, but that would not excuse their sins. If Israel insisted on going her own way, God would have no choice but to let her go and suffer the consequences of their choices. Just as we also must suffer the consequences if we willfully turn our back on God to go and do our own thing. But God, because of His great love for us, does not easily let people go. Listen to the anguish in His words as He contemplated “giving up” Israel, the northern kingdom.

My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they call to the Most High, None at all exalt Him. "How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I set you like Zeboiim? My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred. Hosea 11:7-8

So even though God’s spirit was deeply grieved, He finally was left with no choice. In the case of the northern kingdom, God “gave up” Israel to the Assyrians.

Ephraim is joined to idols, Let him alone. Hosea 4:17

How sad these words. What can be more awful than having God just give up on us. And yet, doesn’t the same hold true today - even among Christian churches? How long will it be before God just gives up on us; collectively and individually?

- continued

Sermonette