Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20110102.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Daniel: Hope And Direction In A Troublesome World
A. Personal Alignment With God For Blessing In A Troublesome World
(Daniel 1:1-21)
    Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

    We live in an era of uncertainty where many people struggle to feel secure in their lives and to have hope for the future:

    (1) Local radio talk show host Brad Davis on his "Talk of Connecticut" show last Tuesday lamented that 40% of the children now born in our nation are coming from unwed mothers! It is "the engine driving our most urgent social problems, from crime to adolescent pregnancy to domestic violence" (David Blankenhorn, Fatherless America: Confronting Our Most Urgent Social Problem, 1995 as Blankenhorn reported in "Life Without Father," USA Weekend in the Torrington Register-Citizen , Feb. 24-26, 1995, p. 4-5.

    (2) The investing world is nervous about world economies: on Monday when it was learned that China had raised its loan interest rates, our economically-interconnected world left American investors so nervous they sold stock, with the market barely making it back to where it started when the market session ended! Joblessness and the recession have created a "bunker mentality" as many investors do not dare reenter the market now, and the federal reserve's printing of loads of dollars has made many worry about the falling value of the dollar!

    (3) The growth of terrorist activity has made for a lingering concern as reflected in the recent outcry about full body scanners used on airline travelers. Nevertheless, the public generally seems willing to tolerate this arguably unconstitutional procedure to insure its safety.

    (4) In recent months, I have had discussions with several believers in their 20s who feel unsettled about charges raised against the Bible's credibility that they hear from educated parties, charges these young adults are unable to answer! One party reported he felt "depressed" and "sad" at the charges that were raised!

    (5) This last week, I learned that a friend of one of our own Church's young adults committed suicide! It is incredibly tragic that someone with his entire adult life in front of him would conclude that fulfillment is such an unachievable goal that he must end his own life!



    Thus, we ask, "In view of today's troublesome world, how may I gain a sense of security about life and hope for the future?!"

    Need: "In our troublesome world, how may I even begin to gain a sense of security in living and feel optimistic about the future?!"

  1. Daniel as a young man faced much depressing trouble, Dan. 1:1-7:
    1. He saw his king set on his nation's throne by Pharaoh, and his people made to pay silver and gold taxes to Egypt since Daniel's nation of Judah was economically, militarily and politically controlled by Egypt, Dan. 1:1a; 2 Kings 23:34-36; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978.
    2. Daniel saw his king build an elaborate palace with the forced labor of his countrymen, Dan. 1:1a; Jeremiah 22:13-19; Ibid., ftn. to Dan. 1:1.
    3. After this, Daniel experienced the trauma of seeing his land invaded by Babylon in September of 609 B. C., 2610 years before our own September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, all because his nation's kings had refused to repent before God, 2 Kings 24:1-7, 8-16. Daniel was then taken captive along with the treasures of the temple of God, Daniel 1:1b-3, 6; Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, p. 1326.
    4. As a captive, though in the line of David (Daniel 1:3) and handsome and intelligent at age 16 with his adult life in front of him (Daniel 1:4; Ibid., p. 1323), Daniel was forced to be educated in the ways of Babylon to serve its king versus serving his own nation (Daniel 1:4), and he was possibly also forced to become a physical eunuch so he could not marry and have a family, his personal dreams and goals in life thus being abolished, Daniel 1:3; Ibid., Ryrie, ftn. to Daniel 1:3.
    5. Also, Daniel, whose Hebrew name means, "God is my judge" (Ibid., p. 1217, "Introduction to the Book of Daniel: The Prophet"), having been named by godly parents, was renamed Belteshazzar, "May Bel protect his life" in honor of a pagan god, Ibid., ftn. to Daniel 1:7.
    6. Besides all of this, Daniel was assigned the king's daily food supply, the king's wine and meat, Daniel 1:5. This meat was likely killed in a way that violated the Mosaic Law and offered to a pagan god in additional violation of the Mosaic Law, Ibid., ftn. to Daniel 1:8.
  2. Yet, Daniel read and applied Scripture to the utmost, claiming in faith God's promises regardless of his depressing trials, Dan. 1:8a:
    1. The prophet Jeremiah who had long ministered in Daniel's nation (Jeremiah 1:1-3 with 35:1 and Daniel 1:1) had warned Judah of judgment by national captivity if it kept failing to heed God's Law. (Jeremiah 2:8 with 1:14-16)
    2. However, once in captivity, young Daniel recalled how Moses had claimed that were the people of Israel under judgment in captivity to repent wholeheartedly of their violations of God's Law, God would reverse their captivity, and richly bless them, Deuteronomy 30:1-5.
    3. Nevertheless, Jeremiah predicted Israel would be in Babylon for 70 years (Jeremiah 25:8-11), so Daniel could only hope for God's blessing IN his captivity for the duration of those seventy years!
    4. So, NOT LETTING HIS DEPRESSING CIRCUMSTANCES BOTHER HIM, in FAITH, 16-year-old Daniel purposed to heed God's Law, not to eat the king's food in trust that God would RICHLY BLESS him for doing so IN CAPTIVITY, Daniel 1:8a.
    5. Daniel thus asked the head eunuch if he might abstain from eating the king's food that he not violate the Mosaic Law, Daniel 1:8b-9.
    6. The head eunuch did not grant Daniel's request for fear of losing his own life (Daniel 1:10), so, Daniel persisted in seeking to obey God by asking Melzar, the guard the head eunuch had assigned immediately above Daniel and three other Hebrew captives, to grant them ten days of testing by partaking only of vegetables and water, Daniel 1:11-14.
  3. GOD then RICHLY BLESSED Daniel's acts of faith, Dan. 1:14-21:
    1. The Lord made the Hebrew youths who had vegetables and water appear healthier than those who ate of the king's food, Dan. 1:14-15.
    2. This test convinced the guard, Melzar secretly to let these youths keep on ingesting vegetables and water versus the king's food, and GOD gave them knowledge, skill in all learning and wisdom, with Daniel coming to understand visions and dreams about FUTURE EVENTS (as we will see in the rest of the book of Daniel), Daniel 1:16-17.
    3. At the end of the three-year reeducation period, the king found Daniel and his three Hebrew associates to be ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers in the rest of the nation, all due to GOD'S intervention to BLESS them in CAPTIVITY, Daniel 1:18-21!
Application: If we face very taxing, depressing circumstances in our lives, may we (1) trust in Christ for salvation and a relationship with God, John 1:12-13. (2) Then, may we like DANIEL rise above our circumstances by reading and applying to the UTMOST God's promises of blessing in His Word, trusting God to bless us anyway!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

 God has recently been applying this message as follows:

(1) Where Daniel had Bible promises of blessing for obeying God, we too have promises for our era in Church History in Revelation 3:14-22. We have often noted this, and it is explained in our web file, "Christ's Scripture Prophecy On Contemporary Evangelicalism."

(2) Experiential indicators signal Revelation 3:14-19 is by now largely fulfilled for us, and we are at Part IV, C, 1 of the file as follows:

(a) Revelation 3:20 there promises that if today's pastor refuses to pressure the congregation in times of financial crisis (like the recession, etc.) to give money to secure his livelihood, or if he refuses to take another pastorate or secular job for financial security, but trusts God for his livelihood and keeps at God's local church assignment for him, Christ will give him edifying truths in his Bible study to share with the people that Christ in union with the receptive might spiritually "dine" from the pastor's effort, and Christ will then equip and spur the people to supply the pastor materially so he can materially "dine." This implies God's material supply not only for the pastor, but for those who heed his ministry so they might meet the pastor's needs.

(c) We can all testify of God's mammoth provisions in this regard, especially as signaled in recent Christmas Eve love gifts!

(d) I similarly believe these events signal God does not want us to pressure one another to meet sensitive areas of our Church budget, but to trust Him to solve such matters in His grace and power!

(3) However, Revelation 3:21 (Part IV, C, 2 in the above file) calls us to avoid indulging in the lusts of the flesh, the eyes and pride, focusing instead on God's ministry assignments, and my daughter's delivery of her first child last week signaled my need to do just that! God has always used her great health needs to drive my family to rely on His Word for the balm we need to handle the trial, and the real risk of losing our daughter in this event did that! With her delivery coming so soon after the Christmas Eve event, it was as if God had said, "So much for Revelation 3:20 -- now heed My will at Revelation 3:21!"

The reward for heeding Revelation 3:21 is God's gift to us of worldwide influence for Christ! That is certainly worth the effort of obeying God there, for the world desperately needs godly influence!

May we like Daniel in humanly difficult situations trust and obey God and His Word to the utmost for God's potent blessings!