Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Draw The Line: God calls the Faithful!



In the 1939 movie, The Wizard of Oz- Dorthy’s famous words are: “There’s no place like home, There’s no place like home!”  

I think most of us would agree that there truly is no place quite like home. Vacations are wonderful, but there truly is nothing as good as returning home to the comfort of your own bed!  But, what if you no longer had the option to return home?

Think about this scenario: You are forced to leave everything- your house, city, church, friends, family and anything familiar. After your departure, you are then told you can never return. What would this feel like? To be forced away from the familiar, away from what is comfortable. It immediately invokes fear in our minds; this is what it would feel like to be exiled.

As we read through the Old Testament, Exile and Captivity seem to be pretty common events. On several occasions we see God’s people stripped away from their homes, away from comfort and forced to live in a new culture: In a place where they have no influence. Although these times and stories seem frightening, they are also the most exciting, because during periods of exile, bold, God fearing leaders are built and developed.

In the first chapter of Daniel, we see three truths arise during a period of exile. Hopefully we never experience the kind of exile we read about in the Old Testament; however, we are guaranteed to face challenges. But, the good news is, we are not alone- we are all facing challenges together, and this chapter shows a beautiful example of how we should trust the Lord during times of trials and temptation.

 
Daniel 1: 1-3 - During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia and placed them in the treasure-house of his god. Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives.


I.                Truth Number 1: Disaster Will Come

In the beginning of Daniel 1, Jerusalem was taken captive. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon came and not only took several sacred possessions; but he also took many young men captive.

This would be kind of like the President of China coming to America (obviously with his larger army) and taking our entire military captive and then going to all the Ivy League schools: Princeton, Harvard, Yale… Texas A&M (ha)… and capturing America’s strongest, smartest, most talented individuals. Pretty Scary!

What would you be thinking if you were one of those individuals- forced away from your home? Well, this is exactly what happened to Daniel, as he and several young men were taken away from their homes and brought to Babylon.

There are times that we too feel our own kind of exile. There will be a time that life takes something comfortable, or someone familiar away from us; either by our own choice or maybe by no choice at all. Maybe you are currently experiencing some kind of exile and your heart is broken, confused, and scared. This is a truth for us all: TRUTH: Disaster will Come!

Unfortunately the next truth is not much happier.

In the beginning of our text, extreme measures were taken to ensure these young Jewish men were stripped from their former convictions & traditions. These men were forced to face difficult changes and difficult choices- would they commit to the Lord, or would they conform under the pressures and temptations of the new culture? Truth Number 2:


II.              Truth Number 2: Temptation Will Come


Daniel 1:3-5
Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives.  “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “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. The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service.

As soon as Daniel and the other men were taken captive, they experienced great pressure to become something that that they were not. Yet still, Daniel was not willing to compromise who he was or who he served. He was the Lord’s child and He was determined to serve only the Lord.

Skip down to vs. 8. Daniel 1:8

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.

Verse 8 is the most important verse in this text- if you have your bible, highlight it or star it... This is where the story turns from a story of bondage and captivity into something bigger-This is where the story becomes a message about how God works when His people trust Him.

Daniel didn’t put up a fight when he was given a new place to live or new clothing to wear, but, Daniel resolved (made up his mind) about who he would serve.  Because Daniel had drawn a line, long before there was an issue, he knew where he stood and therefore, had the strength to say: No More, enough. I will not defile myself!

For Daniel the line was defiling his body by eating the King’s unclean food. (If you are wondering why that was a big deal read through Leviticus 11) Daniel knew that it was wrong for him to eat the king’s food, because it was not only unclean, but it had also been presented to other “gods.”

It is right here, in the temptation that we can relate. No matter how you were raised (in church or not) there comes a point when we have to decide for ourselves:

Are we going to conform and blend in with the surrounding culture or draw a line? There are times when the world’s table offers really appealing things. A dish at Morton’s Stake House sounds way better than a plate of carrots! But it is during these times that we must ask: What is my true desire?

Many of us try so hard to do the right thing. Even though we all know the difference between right and wrong, we haven’t resolved how we will live. Instead we have chosen to live in the middle. But when we live in the middle, we live in a constant battle of choosing which side to lean towards… We want to do right, but we can’t kill our appetite. There are some other things that look fun and appealing!

Knowing that the Lord’s offerings are eternal and this world’s are temporary, why then do we still fall into temptation? Because it is impossible to kill your appetite! You can’t kill it…. But you can replace it!!


Luke 9:23- Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.


Our desires must be bigger than our denial….


I believe there is a deeper desire beneath all our “cravings.” We all long to be loved and accepted and most of all, we all want to serve a purpose! Did you know that is exactly what Christ offers- Love, acceptance, and purpose!? He offers all these things for eternity!

When we understand that Christ offers everything we truly desire, then our appetite for Jesus Christ will become so much bigger than any worldly appetite. This does not mean we will no longer crave the things of the world… Absolutely we will, but our desire for Christ becomes greater… The more we crave Christ, the easier it is to deny anything else.  

We can’t remove our appetite, but we can replace it with other desires… desires that are greater than denials. It is no longer about denying our cravings, but changing them!

So think about it for a minute… What is the world’s table currently offering you? Even if it only requires a small compromise … it will lead you astray from what your heart truly longs for.  

So before the world even brings temptations to the table, we must be like Daniel and resolve (decide) what we truly want. For me, I want things that bring me closer to my Father.

I’m pretty sure Daniel decided how he would respond before he found himself in this predicament. When the King’s instructions were given, he didn’t even think about what to do, because he had already decided where he stood. Without hesitation, he went to the chief of staff and asked for permission to be exempt from eating the food- There was not debate.

There are great benefits from having your mind made up in advance. When we have already decided, we don’t have to anxiously debate! We won’t be tempted to compromise.

Today the Lord does not give us a list of do’s and don’ts, we can go wherever we’d like, do whatever we want, eat whatever we want, be around whoever we enjoy, but… we still need to think about how these things bring us closer to, or farther from who we are living for.

 It wasn’t easy, but Daniel chose to remain faithful. Which leads us to our third truth:

 

III.            Truth Number 3: Faith & Discipline Are Required

 
In order to make it through disasters & temptations, we must first be faithful, but then we also need discipline.

Daniel 1: 12-16
“Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. “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.” The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days. 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. So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others.

 
Not only was Daniel prepared to take a stand, but through faith and discipline, he also had a solution.  

Daniel knew how to conduct himself. He didn’t make a big scene, but he respectfully requested to be heard and because Daniel was faithful, the Lord made him strong!

 

Take Aways

So what can we take away from these three points?

  • Disaster will Come
  • Temptation will Come
  • Faith and Discipline are Required
One thing I realized is that God is not looking for someone who is already influential- Daniel had no influence, but he was faithful.

 I believe God is looking for someone who is already faithful to make influential. Ill say that again: God is not looking for someone who is influential to make faithful; rather, He is looking for someone who is faithful to make influential.

 Many of us want to make an influence, we want to do big and great things for the Lord, but we have to first be faithful and truly trust him.

 Maybe some of us need to stop and say: “God I don’t know what lies ahead, but I do trust you. I know trials will come, I know I will face temptation, but through those things I will remain faithful to you!”

 It is your choice- Today; decide what desires you will put your faith in because those desires will be stronger than any discipline or denial.

 I encourage you to make Christ your desire, place your faith in Him and that desire will far outweigh anything!

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