Daniel Chapter One

Once a month, I will be going through the book of Daniel, and that's what we're going to be doing today. Going through chapter 1 and only chapter 1 today. There's a lot to cover. I have used the preacher's outline and sermon Bible commentary, as well as the expositor's Bible commentary for preparing the message today. I think it's good, brethren, as we're looking into the life of Daniel, to get our bearings about this man. I say man because at this point in his life, he may be as young as 15 years of age. He may be as old as 20, so he is a young man at this point. But let's get our bearings on this very interesting young man. Let's look at Ezekiel to begin with. The book of Ezekiel chapter 14. Something is said here in reference to Daniel that I think is very interesting. Something that we need to pay close attention to. Ezekiel chapter 14 verse 12. The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, Son of man, when a land sins against me by persistent unfaithfulness, I'll stretch out my hand against it. I'll cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, cut off man and beast from it. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness, says the Lord God. So apart from Jesus Christ, who was perfect, who was God into flesh, if we're looking at just the rest of humanity, apart from Christ, who was God into flesh, these three men, the Bible says, are three of the most righteous men who ever lived. One of those men is Daniel. We drop down to verse 19.

Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out my fury upon it in blood, and cut off it from it man and beast. And even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I lived, says the Lord, they would deliver neither son nor daughter, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.

So here, God twice explicitly comments on the life of Daniel. And of course, other times throughout that chapter refers to him.

Daniel is an interesting personage in the Bible. He has a unique place in all of Scripture.

One of the unique features of his life is all through the Bible.

All through the Bible, nothing evil is said of Daniel. Not one thing.

That doesn't mean he was perfect. He knows he was a sinner. We'll get to that as we go through his book. He'll discuss that. His need for repentance is a need for getting closer to God. But in terms of the way God views him, and the way the Bible is written, the way God put the Bible together, nothing in the Scriptures is said of a negative sort about Daniel.

Something else for us to keep in mind. We all go through our share of trials and difficulties. We all have our various stresses in life. We can have family issues. In his case, he was ripped away from his family. Do you feel alone or isolated from your family? Well, certainly that was the case for him. Environment. People talk about environment. While he was ripped away from his family and sent to a foreign land, given a new name, they were trying to brainwash him. So obviously, his environment, even though he was living in a very palatial, probably lived in the king's palace, still wasn't, from a mental point of view, what anybody would want. In terms of work issues, do you have work issues? Here's a man that was so envied by those around him, they sought his death. Now, people around you may want your job. They may try and stab you in the back. But it wasn't like as though they wanted you dead. These folks in his life wanted him dead. So if you want a book about encouragement, how you can live as a man or woman or young person of God, this book of Daniel is a tremendous book to read. If I had to consolidate this chapter into one overall theme, I would say Daniel chapter one is Daniel a man of conviction.

Daniel chapter one, a man of conviction.

You know, folks, as we go through the end of the age, we need people who will stand up and as Mr. Bradford made mention in Spokesman's Club this last Wednesday evening, we need people who will stand in the gap. Whether it be those of you who are in grade school or junior high or high school or college or you're at work, no matter where you are in your life, especially for our young people, you may think this is your folks' church or your grand folks' church. This is your church. This is the church of everybody in this room. And everybody in this room could be a light. Regardless of your age, regardless of your status, we need people to stand in the gap. Daniel was such a man. He was a young man as we take a look at, we go over to Daniel chapter 1. Daniel chapter 1. As I said, maybe as young as 15 or as old as 20. As I made mention, he was ripped away from his family all the new growing up to that point. His country had been conquered. Thousands of his countrymen had been murdered. Other thousands deported. Only the best were deported. The best were deported. Upon arriving in Babylon, they were wanting to brainwash him. They changed his name. They began an educational process, a three-year process. And at the end of that process, they had to be interviewed by Nebuchadnezzar himself. And if the boss, if Nebuchadnezzar didn't like what he saw, you might not walk out of that room alive.

Do to his stand that we're going to see starting here in chapter 1. God used Daniel powerfully for many, many years. He was there all during the 70 years of the Babylonian captivity. He saw it all every day of that Babylonian captivity. He was able to be a light because of his standing for God. I made mention to turn to Daniel chapter 1, but I want to read for you something else. This is in John chapter 17 and verse 8. You may want to put this in your notes. John 17.8.

In John 17.8, it says, For I have given to them the words which you have given to me. This is Christ speaking. I have given to them the words which you have given to me, and they have received them, and they have known, surely, I have come forth from you, and they have believed that you have sent me.

The great architect of the universe. And for those of you who were in Oconomowoc, this last feast, Galen Morrison gave a tremendous Bible study. He received a round of applause. No one else at the feast did. He did. But he gave a tremendous Bible study. What he was doing, the purpose of the study was showing how small we are in relation to the greatness of God. He had several video clips from Nassau and from other agencies, and he went and showed us these beautiful clips of the universe. There was one shot where he saw all these stars. He said, look at all those stars, a tremendous field of little points of light. He said, but you know something? Those aren't stars.

That was taken from Hubble. All those points of lights, those are all galaxies composed of many, many planets and stars. He said, look at all of that. And he had a time frame where a person was theoretically standing on a Himalayas and going as far out as we know to go. It was really fascinating to watch. The God who created this universe put this book together.

Daniel, a book that you and I think is a book of prophecy, and it is. But today, in Daniel, chapter 1, we don't discuss prophecy at all. And that shows the mind of God at work, how God Himself views prophecy, how we should view prophecy. Because if we don't have a relationship with God, prophecy is of no value to us at all. None. Our great God, the architect of the universe, is also the architect of the Scriptures.

Okay, having said all of that, let's now get into chapter 1. Most of us, I go through Daniel, like I said, it would be just once a month. We'll probably just go through one chapter at a pop. Daniel chapter 1, verse 1, In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

Historically, we know this is of 605 BC. 605 BC. We have a dramatic statement to begin this book. We see that this is the time where Daniel himself and his friends will be taken into captivity. Verse 2, 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, land of Shinar, same thing as Babylon, to the house of his God, small g, and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his God.

So God allowed all of this to take place. God allowed for his temple to be looted and to be carted off. Why? Because the people had really no respect for what they had. And because they didn't have respect for what they had, it was taken away from them.

Now, earlier I gave a sermon talking about background to Daniel, background to prophecy. I was making mention that there are four overarching principles, Christian living principles we see in this book. We see two of them in verse 2. We see two of these principles right here in verse 2. We see very clearly, verse 2, and the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into Nebuchadnezzar's hand. The Lord did that. The first great lesson of the book of Daniel is the absolute sovereignty of God.

And here we see it. God is sovereign. He makes nations, he makes kings, he takes away nations, he takes away kings. And here in verse 2, we see where the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into Nebuchadnezzar's hand. And, brethren, just as God gave us, the United States of America, the tremendous wealth and power and beauty that we have in this nation, this nation's beauty, its lands, its lakes and forests and so forth, God could just as easily take it away, and he will. Now, there is hope. There is hope.

If you would, turn over to the book of Jonah. Jonah chapter 3. Because here a prophet, Jonah, goes to a nation and says, your days are numbered. God is coming for you. But notice what Nineveh did. Jonah chapter 3, verse 1. Now, the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message I tell you. So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord.

Now, Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-days journey and extent. So walk as long and hard as you can for three straight days, and you would walk across the breadth of the city. And back in those days, that was a pretty big town. And Jonah began to enter the city the first day's walk. He cried out and said, yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God. They believed God. They proclaimed a fast, put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.

Then the word came to the king of Nineveh, and he rose from his throne. So it's not only the common man, but also the king. He rose from his throne and laid aside his robe. Verse 6. Covered himself with sackcloth and sat on ashes. And he caused the proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his noble saying, Let neither man nor beast.

I mean, these people were really into it. Don't feed the dog. Don't feed the cat. Don't feed the animals. Don't give them anything to drink. We're going to fast, but we want all of our livestock and all the animals to fast. Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock taste anything, nor let them eat or drink water.

But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, cry mightily to God. Yes, let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. For who can tell if God will turn and relent and turn away his fierce anger so he may not perish? Verse 10. Then God saw their works. Brethren, God saw their works.

You and I can be fooled. How many things do you and I have in our home that we bought because we saw a really nifty commercial? You know, we probably all have exercise equipment at home. What is our exercise equipment good for? We hang laundry on it, right? So we've all been duped. God isn't duped here. God saw their works that they did turn from their evil way. And God relented from the disaster that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it. Now, that same thing can happen to the United States of America. The question is, will our people do the same thing as these folks here did?

It remains to be seen. It remains to be seen. So in chapter 1 of Daniel, go back there now. Actually, let's not go back there now. There's a second lesson that we see in verse 2 of Daniel chapter 1. The first great lesson is the absolute sovereignty of God. God gave the nation over to the hand of their oppressors. But we also see something else in verse 2.

We see the fourth great lesson in the book of Daniel. And the fourth great lesson in the book of Daniel is the mighty grace of God. The mighty grace of God. Brethren, for 200 or more years, God sent one prophet after another to the nation of Judah. He was very long-suffering with them. He continued to show mercy to them. He continued to extend grace to them in hopes that they would repent, in hopes they would be like a Nineveh.

Hundreds of years long-suffering. I would like you to turn over to—because there's a point to be made here—over in Genesis chapter 15. Genesis chapter 15. Genesis chapter 15, starting in verse 13.

Then he said to Abram, Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs and will serve them and they will flick them 400 years. So we see God discussing the future as a prophecy for for Abram, that they would be in Egypt, in enslavement, for a long, long period of time. Verse 14. And also the nation whom I—that they serve, I will judge, Egypt will be judged, afterward they shall come out with great possessions. They would be spoiled as the Israelites are sprung loose from Egypt. Now, as for you, you shall go into your fathers—go to your fathers in peace. Why shall he go in peace? Because of his relationship with the great God. You shall be buried at a good old age. But the key here that I want to expound on a little bit is verse 16. But in the fourth generation, they shall return here. They shall come back, come to the Holy Land. For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.

And that is the phrase I want to key in on. The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.

You see, brethren, God is a God of mercy. God is a God of grace. God does give people a long time. He's long suffering and extending that grace. This was the case that we see here. And we see that there is a window that God gives not only to nations, but to even individuals.

You and I can ask ourselves, as you and I look at our failings, you know, how are we, are our iniquities complete? Or are we repenting of those? But here we see where the iniquities of the Amorites was not yet complete. God was going to give them more opportunity to repent. That's basically what we're saying there.

Giving them opportunity to repent. And certainly that's true for us. That's true for our nation. In your notes, you might want to jot down 2 Peter 3 and verse 9.

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise that some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us. Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

So God was long suffering with Judah before He allowed them to go into captivity. Before we go back to Daniel, let's turn back to Genesis chapter 6.

Again, these are principles we want to keep in mind, not only as we think about prophecy, but we think about our own lives. That God is in charge and that God has great grace. He is in charge of our lives. He extends His great grace to us. But there's something we need to be doing with that great grace. Genesis chapter 6, starting here in verse 11, talking about Noah and his day. The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

Now, in verse 11, the word corrupt is Strong's number 7843. Bear with me as we go through these Strong's 7843. Corrupt. Verse 12. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was 7843. Indeed, it was corrupt. For all flesh had 7843, corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before me, the earth is filled with violence through them. And behold, I will 7843.

Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. What we see, brethren, is when God's eyes, what is corrupt is destroyed. What is corrupt is destroyed. In those three verses, same word used for corrupt and destroy. And so we want to pay close attention to what we see in the book of Daniel. The people were extended great grace. God's great power was extant and shown. And the people just didn't take heed of it. And they suffered tremendous consequences.

Okay, we go back now to Daniel chapter 1. Daniel chapter 1 verse 3.

Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of the eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king's descendants and some of the nobles. Now we know that Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were brought forward. Many commentators feel that those four men were royalty, that they were the sons, somehow related in the royal family.

Ashpenaz is the master of the eunuchs. Some have thought that Daniel himself and Meshach and the rest were made into eunuchs. We don't have hard evidence. The Bible doesn't say that. There's no explicit discussion about that. What we do glean from verse 4, it says, Young men whom there is no blemish. Well, certainly if you have been castrated, there would be a blemish. So the inference here is that did not happen to Daniel and the other three. Young men whom there is no blemish, but good looking, gifted in all wisdom. God gives gifts by natural ability and then augments them with His Spirit. These four young men were gifted. God was with them. He had given them tremendous background. Notice they possessed knowledge and quick to understand. They weren't dunces. They caught on. They caught on quickly. They were some of the cream of the crop of their nation, who had ability to serve in the king's palace. That's why the Babylonians were taking them. They said, let's take these good young men. They're good looking. They're bright. They're intelligent. They'll learn. They're savvy. They've got moxie. Let's use them for our purposes.

That was all a part of the thinking of the Babylonians.

Who had ability to serve in the king's palace and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. This would obviously include language, arts, sciences, all the various disciplines that would make for a highly educated individual to serve in Nebuchadnezzar's court. Of course, Daniel and his three companions had a leg up. They were already learning many of those things, but they were learning them, but also knew the true God of Israel. Now, put a marker here. Let's go over to 2 Kings 24.

A little more background.

2 Kings 24.

Starting here in verse 11. 2 Kings 24, verse 11. And Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came against the city, as his servants were besieging it. Then Jehoiakim, king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon, and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner. Notice carefully now. And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord, treasures of the king's house, cut in pieces all the articles of gold, probably melted them and used them for other purposes.

Verse 14. Also, he carried into captivity all Jerusalem, all the captains, all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths, none remained except the poorest of the land. So what Babylon is striving to do here is totally wipe Judah off the face of the map. They're taking the best, the brightest, and they're carding them away. So there's no one to start an insurrection. So there's no one to start a rebellion. It would be just as if this country was subjugated. Every teacher you ever knew, every professor, every person with any worth, doctors, lawyers, whoever, who were educated people, they were all taken away. That's what's happening here. Verse 15. And he carried Jehoiakim captive to Babylon, the king's mother, the king's wives, his officers, and the mighty of the land he carried into Babylon from Jerusalem to Babylon. All the valiant men, seven thousand and craftsmen and smiths, verse 16 here, one thousand, all who were strong and were fit for war, these the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon. So they're trying to wipe Judah off the face of the earth. Babylon had a two-pronged strategy. They wanted the best and brightest for their kingdom to advance Babylon. And secondly, they gave the nobles, the royals, nothing to look forward to. They gave all of their lands, the people who had land, they gave it to the poor people. Poor people don't like to be subjected by a foreign power. But when you're poor and you've got nothing and all of a sudden you've got a lot of land, you look a little more favorably upon your oppressor. So this was a strategy. It was a good one. I think I've mentioned in times gone by, Rome did the same thing. Rome didn't just have a tremendous military. They were great at psychological warfare. The same thing is true here in Babylon. When people were conquered, either in Babylon or Rome or even by Alexander the Great, they would take the captives, especially the chieftains, the leaders, in case of Rome, take the leading people of the tribes they've conquered, bring them to Rome. Let them see the awe-inspiring architecture. Let them see the engineering. Let them think about the science it took to do all that they've done. And then the idea that those people receive as they're there in Rome or Babylon or wherever, when they go back to their villages of straw huts or whatever they had, probably nothing more than one story, that they, you know, we don't want to mess with these people. You know, we just don't want to mess with these Babylonians. We don't want to mess with these Romans. They're too powerful. They're too bright. Okay, we go back now to Book of Daniel, chapter 1. So we've got these very good young men.

And we see right now one of the great challenges the face of them right off the bat.

And we see how they respond. Verse 5, chapter 1, verse 5. 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. You know, typically we might have a four-year course to get a bachelor's degree. Well, they had a three-year course here, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king. Now, from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Michiel, and Azariah.

So here we see these three fell, these four fellows are subjected to intense pressure. They had every reason to justify just going along. They could have said in their minds, you know, it's only a, it's not a spiritual matter, it's only a matter of eating, it's only a matter of physical food, physical drink. Why should I perhaps give up my life by going contrary to the king, who already has murdered thousands of my countrymen, taken the best and the brightest, and brought them over here to Babylon? Why should I go against that man? He doesn't know us right now. We've not done anything for him right now. We're just young kids. They've got other young kids. Why should we go against that right now? So there was that kind of pressure. You know, if I eat this, then I can serve God later. Well, they didn't do that. They didn't have those sorts of arguments. They wanted to please God no matter what. Verse 7, To them of the chief of the eunuchs gave names, he gave to Daniel the name Belshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishaela Meshach, and to Azariah Abednego.

So they wanted to, again, mess with their minds, change their names.

But Daniel purposed in his heart. In your notes, you might want to jot down Ezra chapter 7 in verse 10. Ezra purposed in his heart to obey God, to be able to teach God's law. And so we see from these men of God who are tremendous men of God, they had purpose in their hearts. They had goals.

They didn't drift. They had a laser-like concentration on what they should be doing and not doing. So Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with a portion of the king's delicacies, nor with a wine which he drank. Therefore, he requested the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now, probably a good bit of this food was unclean. That's probably part of the reason they didn't want to eat it. But even if it wasn't, you know, it talks about the king's delicacies. You know, maybe they didn't want to have a diet of twinkies or whatever it was. You know, they didn't want to have a diet of something that just wasn't helpful to them. Or perhaps this food had been sacrificed to the various false gods. If we go forward to Daniel chapter 5, Daniel chapter 5 and verse 4.

So they drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. So some of that wine may well have been used in false worship.

Romans chapter 14. Let's take a quick turn over there. Romans chapter 14 verse 23.

Romans 14 verse 23. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith, for whatever is not of faith is sin. So those concepts were going through Daniel's mind, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's mind. They were thinking about this. So they purposed in their hearts they would not defile themselves with the king's portions. So they made a request. They asked that they wouldn't have to do that.

Brethren, there's another principle here for us. I know I'm giving a lot of principles here, but I think it's important to, as we're going through this chapter, to look at these and appreciate all the spiritual mechanics that are taking place behind the scenes. So, God had given these four young men favor. Why? Would you like favor with your boss? Would you like favor with people in your life with whom right now you don't have favor? Absolutely. How do we get favor with God? Well, they found favor with God because they obeyed God. They did what God wanted them to do under duress, under some of the worst possible circumstances. Mark 13 is an interesting principle here. Mark 13.

It applied back to Daniel and his three friends then. It applies to us today.

Mark 13, verse 11. But when they arrest you, and certainly he had been arrested, but when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand or premeditate what you will speak, but whatever is given to you in that hour, speak that. For it is not you who speaks, but the Holy Spirit. And so that was very much true of Daniel and his three friends. They found favor with God. God was giving them divine inspiration to know how to discuss this, how to properly bring forward their case. And so we see that taking place. Verse 9. Daniel chapter 1, verse 9.

So the fellow here, this Ashburn, asks, you know, it's one thing for you fellows to kind of stiffen up your spine and say, this is what you want to do, but there may be consequences for me. You know, my head might literally roll. So again, this is where Mark 13, 11 comes into play. You know, when you have an issue, perhaps with your boss or a next-door neighbor or a relative or somebody, and you're asking God to give you favor to help to reach their mind.

Notice what Daniel does here, verse 11. So Daniel said to the steward, whom the chief of the eunuchs that said over Daniel, Ananiah, Michiel, and Azariah, says, please test your servants for 10 days.

He gives them an alternate plan of action. Please test your servants for 10 days. Not a long time. We're not asking for 10 months. 10 days. Please test your servants for 10 days and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Some people would use this as a text verse that we should be vegetarians. That is not the point here at all. The point is the corrupt food of the king versus something much more simple for the four young men here. Verse 13, then let our appearances be examined before you. Let's put God to the test. Let's put the God of Israel to the test, the God of Judah to the test, versus your gods. Let our appearances 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. So again, he's using some really interesting principles here and working with this Ashpenaz. Verse 14, so we consented with them in this matter because it was reasonable. It was godly and it was reasonable. And Daniel knows just the right way to express that. So we consented with them in this matter and tested them 10 days. And at the end of 10 days, their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king's delicacies. God did this. God allowed this to happen. God backed up these young men. They looked better than the rest. And the bottom line here is even Nebuchadnezzar would say, well, maybe we should switch the diet of all these people to what those four young men from Judah were eating. They've had such a great effect. Something was wrong with what we were doing. Something was right with what they were doing.

So verse 17, 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. So, you know, God gave them tremendous advantages because they showed themselves faithful. And brethren, this is something for us to consider. As you and I show ourselves faithful, God will continue to bless us. It's like when you're raising your children. Many of you in this room have got children. Many of you in this room are grandparents. Do you give your children more responsibility if they're not handling what they already have? Of course not. But as they handle the responsibility, you feel you can give them more. Same thing is true here spiritually. As these four young men were showing, they had the ability to use God's Spirit, to use it properly, to serve Him, to obey Him, to be alight. God says, I'll give you even more, even more. So God gave them knowledge. Talking about the great grace of God here, God gave them this knowledge on top of everything else they had. Again, let's put a marker here. Let's go to Matthew chapter 25.

Matthew chapter 25 and verse 15.

Matthew 25 verse 15. All read lettering in my Bible, Jesus Christ's words. Verse 15, And to one He gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, To each according to His own ability. To each according to His own ability.

You have received talents by God. Do you know what all your talents are? Perhaps someday we should have a seminar. We had one of those over in Ann Arbor a number of years ago. It was a ladies-only seminar about talents. And there was a certain kind of a test you took. All the ladies took the test, and they found out, well, these are the talents that I have. Then we explored that. It's really quite interesting. So God has given to these four young men talents, and now He's augmenting that with His Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians chapter 12.

We're going through this because you want to see the character of the man.

We're going to be reading about his exploits in life and what he's doing. We want to see, take a full measure of this man and what made him what he was. And it was God who made him what he was. God's Spirit is being yielded to God. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, a chapter about spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 12 verse 4. There are diversities of gifts but the same spirit. You know, here in the Chicago church, we've got different types of abilities. Some of you have abilities in one area but not other areas. And yet, there are those who have abilities you don't have. And it makes for a wonderful congregation here.

Verse 5. There are differences of ministries but the same Lord. There are diversities of activities but the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. You have been placed in this Hinsdale congregation to profit the Hinsdale congregation. You have special talents. You've got certain abilities. There are things about you that are unique. The God wants you to be a part of the mix here, which you help to make this congregation stronger. The same thing was true for Danielle and his three friends. They worked, they played off of one another. They worked with one another. They augmented one another. And lastly, 1 Peter chapter 4. I see lastly in terms of this thought. 1 Peter chapter 4.

In verse 10.

1 Peter 4.10. As each one has received a gift, minister it, serve to one another as good stewards of the manifold, what? The manifold grace of God. We may mention that one of the overarching principles we see over and over in the book of Daniel is the great and the mighty grace of God. We certainly see that here in the lives of these four young men. Verse 17. The mighty grace of God. Let's go back to Daniel chapter 1. As you're turning back to Daniel chapter 1, isn't it interesting that as the kings were asking Daniel how to understand various dreams and so forth visions, as educated as Daniel and his three companions were in all the arts and sciences of Babylon, it wasn't those arts and sciences of Babylon that gave them the ability to understand dreams and visions. It was the gift of God. It was the spirit of God.

And there again, we are to be humbled because, you know, we have a very educated group here in Chicago. I've got a degree. Most of you have got degrees. And yet, is that where our real wisdom comes from? Or does our real wisdom for you and I not come from our degrees, the letters after our name, but it comes from the very spirit of God that helps us understand. We saw that in Giorgio's sermon at earlier today. Very, very bright people. I've got all, you know, I've just set up my office at home. All these various commentaries and all these books, people have understanding of various things in the Bible, but they don't see the plan of God. Very intelligent people, PhDs and so forth, advanced degrees, they know all sorts of things, but they don't know what you know.

Furthermore, they don't know what some of the fellows I used to know in North Carolina who couldn't read or write. They couldn't read or write. They just came to church and sat and listened. And yet they have more wisdom in terms of what the Bible is really about than all the various scholars because of God's Holy Spirit. We go back to chapter one of Daniel.

Now, at the end of days, when the king said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. So three years have come and gone. They've had all their training, and now you talk about the final exam. You go into a room, you sit down, you take your final, you either do well or you don't do well, maybe somewhere in between. But in this case, if they didn't do well, they might not walk out of that room alive.

The king interviewed them. I'm sure that had to be a little imposing. Nebuchadnezzar himself interviewing these young men. The king interviewed them, and among them all, none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore, they served before the king. In all manners 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 the realm. Ten times better. God's Spirit enhances our minds. It enhances our IQ. Some have done studies on that. Now, I've not seen some of those studies. I've been told about some of those studies, some of our more educated people in the church. I have no doubt that that would be the case. The ability to use our mind in an enhanced way through God's Holy Spirit. So what we see here at the end of the chapter is these four men are making the very best of a very bad situation. Are you in a bad situation? How can you make your situation better by taking what you have and using it for the glory of God? For the glory of God. I mean, here you've got these four young men being quizzed by Nebuchadnezzar. It reminds me of a news report I saw a number of years ago. Chris Wallace, who was a commentator on Fox News, was talking about his father, Mike Wallace. And of course, most of us have watched 60 Minutes, and we know Mike Wallace, the tremendous heart and core of CBS News for him for many, many years. And Chris Wallace was saying, talking about interviews, he says, do you know how tough it was as a teenager coming home late on a date and knowing you had to face Mike Wallace? I can imagine that would be pretty daunting to come home and face Mike Wallace and say, well, son, where were you? And you told me you were going to be home a dozen such a time, and it's a little later than that right now. Where were you? You know?

In an earlier sermon, I gave you these four overarching lessons of the book of Daniel.

The first one is that God is the God of absolute sovereignty. The second, we're to see this second one next time we go through Daniel, that the book of Daniel is about the mighty power of prayer. Now, we'll go through that next time in some pretty good detail. The third overarching lesson is that God's plan is being worked out. We're going to see that next time as well. And today, we saw the first and the fourth, the first being the absolute sovereignty of God, and the fourth, great lesson, is the mighty grace of God. But I say to you, brethren, we're not totally done yet with chapter one. I said, chapter one, I see Daniel a man of conviction. I also see three other spiritual lessons in this chapter that you might want to take note of. Lesson number one is that Daniel was a man of conviction and commitment. Now, for you fellows in Spokesman's Club, we're going through that book, you know, the 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John Maxwell. Next time we get together, which is on December 21st, right here, upstairs, we're going to go through chapter three and four. Chapter three and four deals with commitment and communication.

Commitment and communication. Don't we see how Daniel as a leader was committed and properly communicated to those around him as three buddies and also to those over him, including at the very highest level Nebuchadnezzar. So, as you and I go through our lives, we need to be convicted. We need to make sure we are committed to this way of life because, brethren, we're heading perhaps for the time of the end. I think we're there. I think we're at the beginning stages. I think we very much see the Laodicean church right now.

We went through something in 1995 that I don't think any of us saw coming. Bless his heart. Herbert Armstrong used to say, 50% of you don't get it. He was wrong. 90% of us didn't get it. Mr. Armstrong was conservative, but he kept on hitting that point over and over. He kept on talking about the two trees over and over, and that's what led people astray. They saw the tree of good and evil, but they only looked at the good, and they accepted that. And had they made fun of Mr. Armstrong, had they listened to that man, they would be with the truth today. They would be with the truth today. So we have got to be committed, ladies and gentlemen, because times are coming upon us where that's going to try our souls, each and every one of us. The culture around us is going to entice us to compromise. The luxuries of this age are going to entice us to be distracted, which again we heard in today's sermonette. We can allow the desire for things, again which Georgia was talking about that section of Scripture, the desire of things can distract us. So let's take a look at Ephesians chapter 6. We're done with Daniel. Let's take a look at Ephesians chapter 6. Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Be strong in the Lord. To be strong, the word there means might. It means strength. The believer must possess power and might through God's Holy Spirit and use that properly. So the spiritual lessons of conviction and commitment. The second lesson I see from this book of first chapter of Daniel, that God blesses the faithful.

That God blesses the faithful. I told you I was done with Daniel. Actually, I wasn't quite correct on that. Let's go back to Daniel chapter 6.

We are to be faithful to God no matter what the circumstance, no matter what the pressure, and no matter what the people around us say, because Daniel was. And he was considered one of the mightiest men who ever lived on this planet. Daniel chapter 1 verse 6. The pleas to set over the kingdom 120 satraps to be over the whole kingdom and over these three governors of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them so that the king would suffer no loss. Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps because an excellent spirit was with him, was in him, excuse me, excellent spirit was in him. And he gave King thought to setting him over the whole realm. Brethren, that excellent spirit is in us, too.

That excellent spirit is in us as well. And he will bless us as we are faithful to him.

And the third lesson I see in this chapter, chapter 1, last lesson I want to discuss with you today, is that God can use you anywhere you are. God can use you anywhere you are.

Daniel and his three companions then say, well, hey, look, we've been ripped away from our society from all we knew, our relatives, they're probably all dead, and they can just sit down and cry themselves asleep. No, those three guys, those four fellows didn't do that. They took where they were and they, they, they, God planted them someplace and they grew where they were planted.

They grew where they were planted. Where has God planted you?

Again, whether you're a grade schooler or a teen or a young adult or an older adult or a retired senior, well until your life. You know, why is it God calls some of us when we're very young? Why some of us born into the church? And why are, why does God call some people in their, in their 70s and 80s and 90s? Because God wants all these folks to have an impact on their section of society. Yes, even our grade schoolers, as they stand tall for what we believe, not just what the parents believe, but we, what we as a grade schooler believe, but we as a teenager believe, we as a young adult believe, because all segments of society need to have a witness, need to be, have a light shown to them. Last scripture, Philippians chapter 4.

Philippians chapter 4, starting here in verse 11. Not that I speak in regard to need, Philippians 4.11.

If I have learned in whatever state I am to be content, certainly was true of Daniel. I know how to be abased, I know how to abound everywhere in all things. I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, to both to abound and suffer need. But notice verse 13, the key verse. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Wherever you are at, God can work through you to fulfill the mission He has given you in this portion of your life. So let you and I take a good long look at where God has planted us. Let's ask ourselves the questions, what does God want us to do? Specifically, what does God want me to do with where I'm at right now? Okay, Brethren, like I said, we'll be going through this once a month. Next time we'll probably talk about Christmas, and next time after that we'll talk about Daniel.