This post is a sermon that I preached at Woodstock Wesleyan on June 17. It's based off the book by Chris Hodges called the Daniel Dilemma. Its a great and relevant book that reminds us how to speak into our culture without losing our minds. You can get it Here
Stand Firm and Love Well— Part 3
Daniel 1:11-20, NLT2
Sunday, July 17th 2018- WWC
Well, good morning everyone, I am delighted to be here with you this morning, preaching in this series that is based on Chris Hodges’ book called The Daniel Dilemma; How to Stand firm and Love well in a culture of compromise.
TBH with you, I kind of weaselled my way in to series.. and I am glad and thankful for your pastors— to your pastors— for allowing another preacher to share the Word with you today.
And I’d like to begin by having us consider a question or two this morning…
“What do you do when…”
What do you do when the wheels fall off the cart of your life?
What do you do when the doctor gives you a diagnosis that you are totally unprepared for?
What do you do when things don’t turn out the way that you planned on things turning out?
What do you do when a certain someone shakes hands with a ruthless dictator and at the same time yells and screams at another leader for not playing nice? (Totally hypothetical, BTW)
What do you do when you wake up one morning and everything you have ever known is now different, and you are given a different name, a new identity and you are enrolled in a three year program to learn everything you can possibly learn about your new culture?
What do you do when…
How do you respond?
Do you get into a shouting match?
Do you jump on Social Media and rant and rave about how things are wrong and say “in my day…?”
I’m not quite sure how you respond to the What do you do when question, but I would suggest to you that our first response should be To remain faithful to God.
Our main text for this series has been the Book of Daniel, which is found in the Old Testament, but just because it’s found in the OT doesn’t mean that it doesn’t apply to us today. Quite the opposite actually! The book of Daniel shows us how we are to respond to the “what do you do when” question.
Just so were all on the same page context wise: Daniel and several other captives, who were strong, healthy and good looking— just like Pastor Neil— had been taken captive from their
homeland and taken to Babylon.
The King then gave an order that they be brought to him and he instructed his Chief of Staff to: “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon.” (Dan. 1:4, NLT2
This was an attempt to strip the Jewish identities from these men and make them into something they were not.
Daniel would not be known as Daniel, instead he would be known as Belteshazzar; and Daniel’s other comrades would also have their identities stripped from them as well.
They were assigned daily rations from the king’s kitchen, which, again, was an an attempt to remove their old identities and to force their new identities on them.
Instead of being forced to eat the daily rations the king had ordered them to eat, Daniel became outraged and stomped his feet and took out an add in the Babylonian times newspaper and organized a protest rally and let the whole world
know how he had been offended…
No! That’s not what happened.. We can read what actually happened in Daniel 1 starting at verse 8: But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king.
He asked the chief of staff for permission
not to eat these unacceptable foods.
9 Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel.
10 But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine.
If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.”
11 Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
12 “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. 13 “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.”
14 The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.”
(Dan. 8-14, NLT2)
Daniel didn’t become outraged; He simply proposed a different scenario to Ashpenaz, the king’s Chief of staff.
“Test us for 10 days”, he said, “and see if we’re not in better shape then the fellows who are eating nothing but the kings food.”
Daniel chose to remain faithful to his God even in a culture that wanted nothing to do with the One true God.
AS Pastor Neil said last week, Daniel resolved— he had a plan going in, so that when he was in the middle of the fire, he could respond in way that would bring honour to the Lord.
The food, you may remember, was forbidden under Jewish law, and it was probably offered to idols as well.. making it a double no-no.
Daniel stood his ground and was obedient to the things of God. He wasn’t outraged, he stayed calm and allowed God to work through his situation.
Author Chris Hodges reminds us that “the problems we face in this life are not circumstantial or random— they are opportunities to grow stronger in our faith.” (Hodges, 2017, 40)
The Enemy wanted to wear Daniel and His three friends down; he wanted them to give up, just like he wants all of us to give up when we feel like we are down and out.
“Whenever our faith is tested, we must choose whom we will serve. (Ibid) Daniel and friends chose to remain faithful to the one true God.
ILLUSTRATION- My family and I have gone through a what the hey ding dong kind of time
over the last 5 years.
Without boring you with too many details, the wheels fell off the cart of my life in November 2013.
This was when I was first hospitalized with liver related issues… and since that time I have had more go wrong with me than I can even begin to tell you about…
It feels like I have been on a steady diet of sickness and even more sickness.
I remember one season in particular, I had gone into the hospital with what I though was a slight infection, and I had to undergo the typical wait 48 hours while my blood work was being tested to see if I actually had an infection.
When the results came back, I was told that nothing showed up on my blood work, and if I was able too, I could go home.
While I did have a slight pain in my back, I told everyone that I was fine and I quickly gathered my things and proceeded to head for home, where I stayed for…. less than 24 hours.
I had to go back to the hospital, and it turned out that I had a bowel blockage, and after being very sick for a week, I was sent off to the VG in Halifax for another operation.
I was so mad at God for this; I would yell at Him. Then I would cry. and then I would yell at Him some more.
I remember saying to God: “Listen, I know you don't like me very much right now, and I don't particularity like You very much either, but could You please help me out here….
Was God actually mad at me? I don’t think so! Was God working in my situation to strengthen my faith? The Scriptures seem to indicate this….
Take a look at Romans 5: 3-4: “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.
4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” (NLT2)
Jump over to the book of James, chapter 1 verses 2-4: “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (NLT2)
And then look at 1 Peter 1:verses 6-7: “There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.
7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold.
So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ
is revealed to the whole world.” (NLt2)
The common theme in all these verses is that our faith is strengthened through trials of many kind.
“God will always use the tests in our lives to make our faith stronger and reveal His glory to those around us.” (Hodges, 2017, 45)
Let’s go back to Daniel and see how this truth played out in his life.
“At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king.
16 So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others.
17 God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.
18 When the training period ordered by the king was completed, the chief of staff brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar.
19 The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the royal service.
20 Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.” (NLT2)
Wow! Thats incredible. I really like verse 17.
“As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.” (Dan. 3:17, ESV)
Because Daniel and his 3 friends remained faithful to their God— even when things got difficult, God blessed them.
Not only did they become one of the Kingsmen, but any time the king had a question, Daniel proved to be 10 times smarter than any of the other men the king had at his disposal.
Daniel responded to the “what do you do when…”. question by remaining faithful to God.
Just as David reminded faithful.
The story is recorded for us in 1 Samuel 30. David and his men had just returned home from battle to their homes in Ziklag, only to find that they themselves had been on the receiving end of an invasion…
“Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag.
They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire 2 and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way.
3 And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.
4 Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep.
5 David's two wives also had been taken captive.…
6 And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters.
But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” (NLT2)
David’s closest friends became unglued when they arrived home to find that they had been raided by another army.
They cry, yell and scream. They even begin to talk about stoning David, but instead of yelling and losing his cool, David looked upwards and focused his attention on the Lord.
What did David do when…. his whole world came crashing down? He remained faithful to his God.
He wrote these words in Psalm 61: Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer;
2 from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. (NLT2)
On His worst day— the worst day in the history of the world— Jesus, answering the “what do you do when…” question, said: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46, NIV84)
You see loved one, at some point, all of us are going to have to answer the “what do you do when…” question.
ILLUSTRATION- I’ve made the choice to stick with God, no matter what.
I’ve often thought about the conversation
that Jesus had with His disciples in John 6, when several people were leaving Him because they couldn’t grasp what He was saying, and he turned to His disciples and asked: “Do you want to go away as well?”
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:67-69, NLT2)
Have you come to know this truth about Jesus?
I’ve come to this conclusion by going through what I have gone through—
Although to be completely honest with you, I could have done without all of this mess…
I could have done without the 2 liver transplants. And I’d happy if the third one Miraculously didn’t need to happen.
I could have done without being at death’s door more times than I can even remember.
I didn’t sign up to leave my family constantly wandering around the wilderness wondering what’s coming next, but I did sign up to follow Jesus, and where He leads me, I will follow.
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth.
2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” (John 9:1-3, NLT2)
I’m choosing to believe that God is telling His story of redemption though my mess; just has He told a better story through the life of Daniel when he suggested a diet of water and veggies.
God can and will use any situation for Good, all we have to do is shift our attention away from us and place it on to Him.
“The more time you spend with Jesus, the less time you’re going to spend being intimated by opinions of others or worrying about your problems.” (Hodges, 2017, 52)
So, what is it that I want you to do with what you’re hearing this morning?
Well, at some point, you are going to have to truthfully and honestly answer the question I
asked at the beginning of the sermon….
What do you do when…
The wheels fall off the cart of your life, what do you do?
What do you do when someone challenges your faith?
What will you do when society goes against God and all things God are shoved down the drain?
Are you going to be like Daniel and stand firm in your faith and demonstrate how God’s power is
not just a lot of talk .
“What will you do when…?”
The secret to living in world that is constantly changing— almost by the minute—is not to start a riot, or even go on a rant. It is to stand on the Solid Rock that is Jesus Christ.
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Cor. 15:55-58, NIV2011)
As the worship team comes back, I would like for you to take a moment to talk to God. Tell Him that you’re committed to Him no matter what… Maybe you want to pray something like this:
“Lord, the times we are living in stink. It seems that anything to do with You is shoved to the ground for the flavour of the month. Help me to be resolved to stand on the Solid Rock and to share the Hope and Holiness that is only found in Jesus Christ..”
