Grace and Wisdom Under Pressure

I've recently been reading a book that has intrigued me. It's by a gentleman, British by Nature. His name is John Lennox. He is a gifted writer. He has written many books over the years. One of the books is entitled, Against the Flow. It's really the story of a person of God existing in Babylon, whether in yesterday's age, yesterday's year, or what we are going through as we are increasingly moving into a humanistic, secular society.

I am going to be drawing upon some of the principles that he brought out in his book. I always want to give due credit. A lot of it is my own efforts and work as well, but I always like to give credit where credit is due. I find his writing fascinating, sometimes humbled by what people have that are not in our community, and yet also grateful because we also have a revelation that moves beyond even what God has allowed them to understand right now.

But that should allow us to appreciate what they do have to give while at the same time having our Church of God lenses on with the great truths and great understanding that we have. The name is John Lennox. It's a book called Against the Flow. There is no mistake that we are immersed in Babylon more and more each day, each year, each decade.

We do recognize that, only we as Christians, our battle is not just simply against flesh and blood, but it has been against powers and dominions and realms and high places. That is not to spook you. That is to make you aware, because many of the great headlines are occurring above in a world that we have not been invited to, other than to know that it exists. And God puts His warning in it. And God speaks of a Babylon down through the ages and into our age and into our time.

And especially as the secular and humanistic and the spiritual world behind that is propagating more and more, we are going to need to be people of wisdom and understanding of how to deal with a world that is somewhat foreign to perhaps even the world that we grew up in. That the world has ever been great since the Garden of Eden and since the decision of Father Adam and Mother Eve. But today, with that thought, I would invite you, please, to join me as we go to the book of James. Join with me in James 1. James is the Proverbs of the New Testament. It's a book of wisdom.

James 1 and verse 1. James, a brother, excuse me, a bondservant, he was the brother, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ and to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad. And I also say that this book would speak to the spiritual Israel of God today.

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, various challenges in thinking of what Christ just brought out in his last points. That when things come our way, can we embrace it? We may not want it, but can we embrace it? And knowing that God will give us His strength and His power to endure. Knowing that the test of your faith produces patience, but let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

If any of you lack wisdom, let Him ask of God, the doors open, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to Him. But let Him ask in faith, with no doubting, for He who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, for he is double-minded, unstable in all of his ways. And so here we have a classic case where God asks us that we can approach Him and learn from Him.

And one of the things that God has given each and every one of us is that He's given us His Word. He's given us not only the examples of Jesus Christ that was brought out by Chris in the first message, but other men of the Spirit, other human beings like ourselves that have applied not only the knowledge, but the wisdom of God in a time and in a realm such as the Babylon that was theirs at their time.

So with that thought, I'd like to share with you the message title that I'm going to give you today. It is simply this, Grace and Wisdom. Grace and Wisdom under pressure. For there is no way of really growing and appreciating the grace that God gives us and the grace that we're supposed to pass on to others. Grace is just a word that means God's favor. And then as we have been favored, how we favor those that, well, you and I come into contact with.

Grace and Wisdom under pressure. And again, always remember that old proverbial thought, and we've all shared before that, to recognize what are diamonds. Diamonds are only coal under incredible time and weight that are ultimately created in the being jewels. So with that thought, I'd like you to join me now. One story, one man's story, in a time long ago and far away, that you and I can learn about how to experience God's grace, use wisdom, and under pressure. Join me, if you would, in the book of Daniel. Again, I invite you to open up your Bibles. And as we do, let's plan to open up our hearts and to hear the word of the Lord. In Daniel. We're going to go right just to Daniel 1.

If you can join me there. In Daniel 1.

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, King of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon came to Jerusalem. And he besieged it.

And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, King of Judah, into his hand with some of the articles of the house of God, which he had carried into the land of Shinar, that's in Mesopotamia, to the house of his God. This is kind of what we would call, when you read religious material and antiquity, this would be in a sense, triumphalism. You would take the God of the people that you conquered and you take it and you put it in your place. You lose, I win, my God wins, your God lost, I'm going to keep your vessels. But notice he took the articles of the house of God, which he carried in the land of Shinar. And these were vessels. This was instrumentation that had been used in the temple of God. And so he sees this beginning. And then the king instructed Ashvanaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel, and some of the king's descendants, and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, and good-looking, and good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand. They were Johnny on the spot, who had ability to serve in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans.

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. Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hazariah, and to them the chief of the eunuchs, again, let's get the name straight, that's Alaphaz, because we're going to be dealing with other people later, Alaphaz gave them names.

He gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah, Shadrach, and to Mishael, Meshach, and Azariah, Abednego. Now in all of this, I'm going to stop there before we get to verse 8, because in verse 8 is where we get into the action that we need to learn about today. What's going on here? Daniel and Mishael, Hananiah, and Azariah, I'll use their Hebrew names. Daniel nails it at the very beginning here, and here's the concept I want you to have as a pilgrim on this earth.

And it goes back just to Genesis. Daniel, you know, when you ever read a book, you always have to get into the preface. You get into the intro. You almost don't need it. If it's a good preface and a good intro, you don't need the rest of the book, frankly. It's just an expansion. I mean, sometimes I can't get out of the preface. This is the preface. He nails it. Notice what it says in verse 2 about the siege of Judah.

And the LORD gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand. Let's just think about this. In the beginning of Daniel, in the beginning, Daniel has not forgotten that there is a God, a God who is outside of time and space, a God that is not made of material like the gods of antiquity were. This is the God that made matter. This is the God that made matter.

And because he is God, it does matter. Because he had given grace, he had given favor to Israel of old, fulfilling the promises of Abram to Abram, later Abraham, that from his seed would come this people, that there would be blessings. These are the people that God had rescued out of the mud banks of the Nile, liberated them, led them out of Egypt, graced them as it were, given them favor above all the nations of antiquity. He could have picked the Phoenicians, he could have picked the Hittites, he could have picked all the different people other than slaves.

And he gave them a life. And yet, ultimately, over time, they showed by their actions that they did not appreciate that. But the message of grace, the message of being touched by the divine, the message of not settling for gods that were made out of matter, were rested in the heart of Daniel, and also Michell, Hananiah, Hanazariah.

These men were whined, they were dined. They actually got the food off of the king's table. Not too bad. It's like if you're in New York, you're not at McDonald's at 46th and Broadway, you're at the Waldorf. And just imagine, after they have for years been under siege, in battles, probably not eating that much, and now to be able to have the goodies right off of the king's table.

The food and, important, the wine. What was happening here? These young men, they were not the only, you know, the king Nebuchadnezzar take young men from this nation or that nation or this conquered people, and he'd bring them in. Why was he bringing them in? He was bringing them in to brainwash them. He was bringing them in to, use a modern term, to groom them slowly, to take out of them what was, and to turn their minds and to turn their hearts inside out, and make them, then, his representatives to go back, to change them inside out, to groom them.

To give them new clothing. To give them new food. To give them new education. To give them new names. And even the names, all the names that I've mentioned, they're the Babylonian names, they're all the names of gods. I mean, this is a squeeze operation, the same that is happening in America today, in the educational system, in the tech system, in the social media system, in our schools. No matter where those schools are, some people think, well, our school, we're here, and it's better than the schools over there. Those schools, you know, in this more, quote-unquote, conservative area, well, they're not like those over in the liberal areas of the country.

Can I tell you something? Forget it. It is pervasive. It is under the radar. It is not going to change. We need to be aware of that. They're going after our young people. They're going after us in ways, too. And there's a realm beyond this, a realm that we fight against, for our fight is not in just simply flesh and blood, but in high places. The only good news that I can share with you today is that our hero is above that realm, and he's uncreated, his father and himself.

But now, here comes a problem. Daniel put on the clothes. He might eat some of the food. Can't really change being what you're called, but there's something deeper. Now we go to verse 8. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank. And therefore, he requested to the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

What's happening here? For some of you that are younger, I'm not really that old. I was not to fly on the wall. Nobody knows exactly what happened here, but I will give you some... will unpack this a little bit for you, because it's important. For his... where his identity was becomes our identity. There's a couple things here that could have happened. Number one, the food could have been what we would call biblically unclean. It could have been biblically unclean food. Number two, it could have been food and or wine that was sacrificed to idols. Food sacrificed to idols. Good or bad, clean or unclean, but perhaps sacrificed to idols. Number three, and sometimes we overlook this, the wine. We already know from Daniel 5 with the latter story about the handwriting on the wall that that king was pouring wine into the holy vessels that were brought from the temple. Pagan king, orgy, banquet, worldliness, using those vessels that have been dedicated to the great God. And that is where Daniel drew his line. Why is that so important to understand? Why is that so important to understand? To recognize then that we see what's going on here. Join me if you would in Leviticus 20, just for a little sample. I'll read one and allow you then to look at the other later. Leviticus 20. And we'll pick it up in verse 24.

Actually, let's pick it up. Yeah, verse 24. Yeah, verse 26. Nope, that's not what I want. One second for... Oh, Leviticus 19. Pardon me. Okay, we're all together. Like the Beatles. All together now. All ready? Here we go. Now you know what I listened to when I was a youngster. Okay, Leviticus 20, 24.

Verse 26. The drumroll, the anthem.

Again, you might want to just jot down. We're not going to have time to go to Deuteronomy 14. Verse 2. Again, dealing with the matter of foods. God says, this is what you will do and this is what you will not do. Why? Why? Because this reminds you that I am holy and that you are to be holy. Let's understand something about the biblical food laws. The biblical food laws, God knows what's best to go into our human engine. I absolutely agree with that. Please understand that. But the primary reason why God gave this is simply this.

Identity. It identifies our Lord and our Maker. And it identifies us as His people. So I'm spiritual, so I don't really need those reminders. Well, you take that up with God later on. He's the one that made the rules. This is about identity. They are worshipping the God of creation. Not a God that comes forth out of the creation. One of wood or one of stone or one that is in mythological literature of Babylon or of Ur or of the Hittites.

This is the God that is outside. This is the God that intervenes in world history, interrupts world history. Daniel 1, 1-2. He says it was God that gave Jehoa Kim over to Nebuchadnezzar. God intervenes in human history. He interrupts. He's not just simply a first cause in history and or our lives. God deals both at the macro and He deals at the micro. He deals with the multitudes and thank Him that He deals with you and with me.

So we need to understand what was happening here. Now, beyond that, I want to now really move into the aspect of the next phase of the story. Because we notice that Daniel purposed in himself and in his heart. Not just what he knew. Not just what he knew, but he was going to purpose that in his heart. Why is the heart so important and why should it be down deep inside of us? I like to quote from Covey, Seven Habits of Highly Effectual People. Because what it's saying here about this defilement, he was not going to defile himself. That means he was purposed.

That means he was resolved. That means that he was determined. That means I'm sorry, I've drawn a line. No further. Covey says this, people cannot live with change unless there is a changeless core inside of them. The key to the ability to change is a changeless sense of who you are, what you are, what you are about, and what you value. The lesson for ancient Israel is the lesson for the Israel of God today. We value that we have had the revelation and the invitation from God the Father. Our identity, and I'll be showing some verses at the end of this message, our identity is in the Father and our identity is in His Son.

They alone are to be worshipped, nothing else. And there will come a time in your life and mine, maybe even more so as things roll along here with where society is going, that you and I are going to have to take a stand. I realize in our church life, because of our understandings of God's revelation and what He would ask us to do, that even though we are saved by grace, that He then gives responsibility for us to follow His word as the Lord of our life.

And so there are things that you have done and that I have had to do over our life to make a stand, not to go any further. Got that! But that was yesterday. Can I share something with you? May I? There's more coming, so be ready. Each of these teaches us and strengthens us to move towards the next chapter, as even we'll find in the book of Daniel.

One thing that I want to share with you, which is fascinating, and actually John Lennox brought this out. I had never thought about it. I taught Daniel back in Pasadena at the high school level for about 16 years. So we'd always go through these portions of the first part of Daniel. And something that I've never honed in on, which I want you to hone in now, because I said this message is titled, is grace and wisdom under pressure.

God does what He can only do, but He asks us to do things as well. Notice what it says here. It says that He would not defile Himself, wasn't going to take the food, wasn't going to take the money. Now look at verse 8 again.

And He requested of the chief of the eunuchs that He might not defile Himself. Did you notice that? I never, I have and I haven't. You know how that is? You hit a word and all of a sudden you kind of always skipped over it. It says He requested.

Now there is a time, there is a time to do what we call a Martin Luther. Here I stand, I can do no other. Boom! But that's not where He started. He started by requesting, asking, what's going on here? What's going on here and why? To recognize that He was doing something very special and it lends to you and to me. He didn't demand, He didn't get stuffy all at once, He didn't say, boom!

I'm ready to die now, you pagan.

He didn't go, pagan, you know. Go on. No, He didn't.

There's wisdom that is being shown to you and to me. And to recognize, oh yes, there is that time when you cannot go any further. There's a time when you can't go any further but that's not where He started. Join me if you were in 1 Peter 3. In 1 Peter 3.

And let's pick up the verse in verse 18. 1 Peter 3. 1 Peter 3 and verse 12. 1 Peter 3 verse 12. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. And who is He who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed and do not be afraid of their threats, neither be troubled. But set apart, sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you. Notice, with meekness and with fear. With meekness and with fear. What does that mean? That means respect. That means with gentleness. That means with respectfulness. You know, there's a Greek term that we use that is translated in the New Testament. It's called to exhort. And sometimes when you think of exhort, you think, exhort. No, no. Exhorting is discussing the way of life with somebody to whereby the end that you're done of God is bringing Him along. He comes up at the end thinking it was His idea. That's what proper biblical exhortation is. That you will take somebody, study with them, bring them along slowly to where at the end of the conversation He said, I'm really glad I had that idea. And they own it. But what is being spoken about here, we need to be careful. We recognize that just right down Matthew 11, 29, Jesus referred to Himself about His yoke and He talked about His manner was to be gentle and to be kind. To be gentle and to be kind. Not with a fist in somebody's face to begin with, but with gentle and kind. Now that doesn't mean that we're in times when, as we all know, that He could call a spade a spade and He was known to turn over tables in the temple courtyard. And He really went after people. The people that He went after the most in the Scriptures during His time were not the poor and the lowly or the sinners, but thought that they didn't sin. They kissed them, thought they were above that, valued what they knew rather than what they were.

They drove Him crazy. And He had to talk to them straight on, just like this.

That's not how we're to be. What we can learn from Daniel is that He requested. He gently entered into Alaphaz's dilemma that He had told them this, and now that they weren't going to respond.

How often do we live a life of gentility and humility as we share ourselves with other people? It's interesting that what can happen here is that sometimes for those that know the truth, know the truth. Have we ever heard that phrase in our culture?

Know the truth? I wouldn't be very daring. I know this will probably go later on in our circuit. They're obnoxious sometimes. Not that they know the truth, but the way they share it with others. They come across with an aggressive attitude of superiority, that they are in the know and everybody else isn't. Now, that may be factual to a degree, but that's not what the person is picking up. What the person is picking up is not humility, but a pride, of arrogance.

When Daniel was dealing with Alaphaz, later on the steward that we'll talk about in a moment, he was dealing with people that did not know the way of God. I mean, to have the true, one true God was not in their vocabulary. They had more gods than there are animals in the San Diego Zoo.

But he entreated and requested. Now, what was going on here? Join me if you would, further down here. Now, God brought Daniel into the favor and the good will of the chief of the eunuchs, Alaphaz. 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 face looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head. See, there's already one person in trouble. Now there are going to be two. So Daniel said to the steward, now he's going to take it another level. He's going to take it down another level.

So he said to the steward, whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Michelle and Asraim, Please test your servants for 10 days and let them give us vegetables and to eat and water to drink. And then let our parents be examined before you and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king's delicacies and as you see it, so deal with your servants. So he consented with them in this matter and tested them 10 days. And at the end of the 10 days, their features appeared better and fatter. Fat was good in this sense. In flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king's delicacies. Thus the steward took away their portions of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink and gave them vegetables.

Tada! Success! Now the one thing I want to share with you, may I? We're going to not go too long here. It's simply this.

For Daniel, stay with me, for Daniel, this is where the homework comes for us, for Daniel to have that relationship to begin with, to request to Alaphaz. Later on, Alaphaz had already gotten too much and he was nervous about his head, so then he dealt with the next guy down, the steward. But the steward was listening to Daniel. He didn't cut him off. He didn't go away. Prepare to meet your maker.

I simply asked you, what kind of a person was Daniel? The people would even listen to him.

That they would hear him out. Now God does his part, but we need to do our part. We could have said, well, this is a miracle. And he worked with the mind of the steward. God will always do his part, but we've got to do our part. God brought down Goliath. The battle was the Lord's, but David had to pick up five stones for Samuel 1740. What kind of a man was Daniel that Alaphaz and the steward would listen to him? His request was simply this. Let's do a test. One of the first scientific experiments ever mentioned in recorded history right here. He said, let's wait and let's see. Real quickly, because I want to finish, let's unpack this. What is this story about? Number one, he requested. What is our manner of communication with those that we come into contact with? In the world? In our extended families? With our mates? With our neighbors? With schools?

Where do we start? Do we start in a hyssified of human nature, thinking that we're serving God? Or do we entreat? Like Jesus, are we gentle? Are we humble? Do we speak to the situation where it's at? Number two, he did seek permission. He sought permission. That's humbling. Here is probably a prince of Judah at one time, and now he has to ask. Number three, he negotiated. He negotiated. That's wisdom.

Here he had God's grace and favor that God was larger than life to him and in him, that God is holy and he was to be holy. This is how holiness operates in human beings. Number four, he requested time and space towards an outcome. Oh, how un-American is that? Where everything we want is just here and now. God, come on, come on, come on. Right now. I want this whole thing turned around right now. I'm looking at my watch. That's very, very bad for Sherman-like people. They live by the watch. They die by the watch. Oh, my name is Weber. Okay, anyway, why am I sharing all this with you? Again, he requested. He sought then permission from that request. He negotiated and he requested time. Time and space are some of the most important aspects of human relationships. They give time. They give space. It doesn't have to be solved in one day, maybe 10 days, maybe 10 months. Sometimes it won't be for 10 years.

Look at Daniel.

What did we learn from this? Finally, Daniel's identity was from the inside out and he would not melt under pressure.

I think the key verse in all the book of Daniel is in Daniel 2 verse 28. When he's talking in Nebuchadnezzar, he says, There is a God in heaven. That was his identity. That's who he linked to.

Our identity, our identity is in Christ. As Paul said in Galatians 2 and verse 20, Christ lives in me. That's our identity. That's who we serve. That's what to be alive inside of us. I'll give you another verse, Philippians 3 verses 14 through 15. It says, The whole family on earth is named after the Father. That's our identity. That links to the third commandment. You shall not bear the name of the Lord your God in vain. We bear the name of the Father. We bear that name of his Son. Hero Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord your God is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart and all of your mind and all of your soul. And the second is likened unto it. Because we have been shared God's grace, we also need to be graceful as we are dealing with people that, other than by the grace of God, what we know, they don't know at this time. Allow patience to have its perfect work as the Apostle of old, the half-brother of Jesus encouraged us. Patience, timing is everything when it comes to grace and wisdom under pressure. Finishing comment. Daniel 1 is where the story begins. You know, if Daniel had not learned those lessons in Daniel 1, can I tell you something? There wouldn't have been a Daniel 2. There wouldn't be a Daniel 3. There wouldn't be a Daniel 4. It's a little bit like that, that verse in, help me. It's not like Nebuchadnezzar. You're supposed to help me with what you don't know. Okay. Jeremiah 12 and verse 32. If you can't run with a footman, how then are you going to run with the horses? Chapter 2 would be coming up. Chapter 3 would be coming up. Chapter 5 would be coming up. I'll share this with you. It's just a gentle thought. Daniel is marvelous. I know oftentimes we go to the book of Daniel because we look at the framework of the GPS is what I like to call it, of what's coming our way. It's a GPS. It doesn't tell us every inch, doesn't tell us every foot. But it gives us hope because at the end we know that God wins. I would suggest to be daring enough to say that we probably can understand more in the first five, six chapters of Daniel as how to be God's servants. It's crystal, crystal clear. Not that the other should not be looked at as a guide towards the intervening God once again into human history.

But look at Daniel. Take him straight. He's there for us to learn from as far as how to utilize grace and wisdom under pressure.