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Ministering to the heart of Western Arkansas's River Valley for over 165 years, welcome to Chapter and First, the Bible teaching ministry at Fort Smith's First Baptist Church.
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You'll find sermons and teachings from Pastor Greg, our ministry staff, and guest speakers.
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Thank you for listening.
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Thank you, Aaron Choir, for that beautiful song.
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Turn with me your Bibles to Daniel chapter 6.
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This is a great time if you've gotten off track as we're reading chronologically through Scripture.
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We're starting a new book, and we're starting the last run as we move into the New Testament.
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And so I want to encourage you.
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This is a great time to jump in.
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And over the next three weeks, I'm going to do a study on the themes through the book of Daniel.
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Daniel's an incredible character in Scripture, and I think has incredible application for us in our modern life today.
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Daniel was a man who we're in the captivity time of Israel.
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As you know, Israel went through civil wars.
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We studied and they split, and there were ten tribes and they were conquered.
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And then there were two tribes, the nation of Judah, and they lasted a little bit longer, but they didn't walk with God, so they were conquered.
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And as we've seen with Ezekiel and Jeremiah in the last couple of weeks, they were conquered by the nation of Babylon.
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Daniel is a captive that's taken to Babylon.
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And we'll read in a moment how they were trying to co-opt him into the culture of Babylon.
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But interesting enough, Daniel survives through multiple regime changes.
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Later on, the Babylonian Empire is conquered, and another one, the Medo-Persian Empire, comes in and takes over.
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And Daniel actually rises to a level of government importance and authority under the Babylonian rule, excuse me, and in a culture where when another country would take over, they'd kill everybody and cut their heads off who was in charge in the previous nation.
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Daniel has the ability to, in God given favor, to last and navigate his way into a position of leadership in a later different nation and people group.
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It's an incredibly profound factual effect and story in the life of Daniel.
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And so I want to just show you over the next three weeks how that works.
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So today we're going to talk about, in the next three weeks, we're going to talk about how to navigate as a Christian in a secular culture.
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Now, I'm going to try to give you today and just an overview in a few moments, four character traits about how we begin this journey of as Christians navigating our way through secular culture, but in a way that we're able to impact the culture and it not impact us.
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You'll see in a moment the phrase that Daniel determined in his heart not to defile himself.
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And the first thing that we have to understand to have an impact in the culture that we're in is we have to make a determination that we're going to walk with Jesus regardless of what's around us and what we face.
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In fact, let me give you these two definitions as a way to get started today.
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The first one is determination, and it's determination that results in impact.
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Let me define those two terms for you.
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Determination is described this way: a firm purpose, a strong will to achieve a goal despite difficulties.
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Now you can wander around life or you can just kind of happy go lucky go through it, but every time you hit a barrier, every time you hit a wall, something else, you're either going to stop or you're going to tack in a different direction or some kind of a deal.
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How are we going to live for Jesus and not let the culture impact us?
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It is a determination to do that.
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And then I love this definition of impact.
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It is a forceful contact or crash between two objects.
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It creates a strong effect on something.
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And so if you put those together, that's really what our Christian life should be.
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We should live in a determined, with a strong purpose.
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I am going to live for Jesus, and this is what I'm going to do.
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And when we go into the culture, we create a forceful contact with the people around us under the power of the Holy Spirit and Jesus living in and through us that impacts the culture around us.
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That's what you're going to see in the life of Daniel.
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I want you to read with me in chapter 6 here of Daniel.
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Now we started reading today, and I know you read chapters 1 through 3, but we're going to start in 6, and I'm going to connect the dots with chapter 1, because Daniel makes the determination in chapter 1 under King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, but you see in chapter 6, Daniel is still in this position of leadership because of that decision to determine.
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So here's what the Bible says, chapter 6, verse 1, Darius.
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He is now the king.
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He is the king of the Medo-Persians.
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So that regime change has already occurred.
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Darius decided to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom stationed throughout the realm, and over them three administrators, including Daniel.
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So he's structuring his government.
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Bunch of departments, got three department heads, three vice presidents, and Daniel's one of those.
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These satraps would be accountable to them so that the king would not be defrauded.
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Daniel distinguished himself above the administrators and satraps because he had an extraordinary spirit.
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So the king planned to set him over the whole realm.
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How do you have that kind of extraordinary spirit?
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It comes from the work of God in a person's life.
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The administrators, verse 4 and satraps, therefore, kept trying to find a charge against Daniel.
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This is political intrigue now, regarding the kingdom.
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But they could find no charge or corruption because Daniel was trustworthy.
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And no negligence or corruption was found in him.
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You get that?
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Not even negligence.
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They couldn't even find stuff he was faking his way through or oopsing his way through or not paying attention to.
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It's incredible.
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There's a whole sermon in just this verse or two right here.
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Then these men said, We will never find any charge against this Daniel unless we find something against him concerning the law of his God.
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In other words, he does such a good job.
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He is such a professional.
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We'll never find anything wrong to attack him with.
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So in this political attack, this political intrigue, this all this kind of stuff, just like we see in Washington and places like that, that's what's going on here.
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They decide his faith will be his downfall because he never varies from that either.
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He never wavers, and that's what will catch him.
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Where does that kind of character get created?
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Well, look back in Daniel chapter 1.
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If you have chapter 1, we're not going to read the whole story.
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Time doesn't permit.
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But I'm going to just pick a couple of things here real fast so you can see how this established, how this character is established.
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Chapter 1, what the Bible tells us is King Nebuchadnezzar.
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Now we're back to the Babylonians.
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They captured all these people and brought them in.
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And so what happens is, verse 3, the king orders his chief eunuch to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility, young men without any physical defect, good looking, suitable for instruction and wisdom, knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king's palace.
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If you need a picture of that, you saw Luis, one of our student teams on that video.
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Just picture Luis and Pastor Matt.
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That's two good-looking young guys right there who are sharp and talented, right?
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That's what you get.
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So he says he was to teach them the Chaldean language and literature.
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What he's trying to do is take these Israelites and he's trying to co-opt them into the culture of the Babylonians.
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He's trying to turn them into Babylonians.
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He wants them to adopt their secular culture and walk away from their identity as followers of God.
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If he can do that and create leaders all throughout, then all the others who are captives there are going to follow in line.
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And he's trying to incorporate them into their nation.
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So you're reducing the amount of rebellion that happens and all this kind of stuff.
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You're trying to turn them into Babylonians.
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That's what's happening here.
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He says the king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank.
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And so he is really trying to lavish on them this incredible hospitality to affirm them, to tempt them, to engage them to become Babylonians and quit being followers of God.
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The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and the wine that he drank.
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They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to attend the king.
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And it tells us it's Daniel.
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And then three guys will meet next week, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
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Verse 8, Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine he drank.
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So he asked permission from the chief eunuch not to defile himself.
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Now I want you to get those two terms right there.
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Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king's food.
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It probably was not kosher, it didn't meet Israelite dietary laws, but even more than that, he's like, I am not going to become Babylonian.
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So he asked that permission.
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God granted Daniel kindness and compassion from the chief eunuch, yet that guy said to Daniel, I fear my Lord the king who assigned you your food and drink.
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What if he sees your faces thinner than the other guys?
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You would endanger my life with a king.
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In other words, if I feed you what you want and I feed them that, and you guys can't keep up, they're going to come ask me what happened with these four guys, and I'm going to have to say, we were feeding them something else.
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And he goes, I told you what to feed, you violated my rules.
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Those guys lag behind because of what you did.
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I'm going to chop off your head.
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And so he's telling Daniel, I can't do this because I can't put my life at risk.
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So Daniel said to the guard whom the eunuch had assigned them, Please test your servants for ten days.
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Let us be given vegetables to eat, water to drink, then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young man who were eating the king's food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.
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Then it goes on to tell us that they did that, and it actually worked, and they were very healthy, and God gave them favor.
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Verse 6, the administrators and the satraps went together to the king, and they said to him, May King Darius live forever.
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You see, people who kiss up to the boss have been around forever, and that's what they're doing.
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All the administrators of the kingdom, the precepts, the governors, have agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an edict, that for thirty days anyone who prays or petitions to any God or man except you, the king, you see stroking his ego here, will be thrown into the lion's den.
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Therefore, your majesty establish the edict, sign the document, so that as a law of the Medes and Persians, that is a very key phrase you'll see repeated again.
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Their culture and the way they're structured.
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Man, when they put it into law, their culture was this was law.
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And this became an idiom that people knew.
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Laws on the Medes and Persians.
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Even the king could not violate this law in their culture.
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Now you got other nations where the king thought he was God and he could do whatever he wanted to do, and he did it regardless of what the law was.
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That's not their culture.
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So he signs it in the law.
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Verse 10, when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house.
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The windows in his upstairs room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God just as he had done before.
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Now it's important to get this picture right here.
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Because sometimes you go like an old school Sunday school and you got these pictures and these paintings of all this, and they paint Daniel's house as this house that stands up above everything else, and you can see him over the whole skyline, and he throws the windows open, and he's pleading before God in front of the whole community.
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That is not what's happening here.
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This is not some obnoxious violation of the law or something like that that Daniel's doing.
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First thing you have to understand is the Middle Eastern culture.
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You understand this if you have a Muslim friend or if you've seen that.
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In their culture from the Middle East, what they do is, you know, a few times a day, they get out their rug or their place where they pray and they turn themselves back towards the site of their religion, where that is, and they pray in that direction, and it's a discipline of worship how they do that.
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In that Middle Eastern culture, Jewish people did the same thing.
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People around there did the same thing.
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Especially with Daniel and other captives, they're no longer in Israel.
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And when they would pray, as we're all commanded to pray, as they were supposed to pray, they would face back towards Jerusalem, as was the culture of that time.
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Now, we don't have to, you know, we're out praying or we're doing whatever.
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We don't have to face back to Jerusalem or face back to the church or whatever kind of a deal.
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God is everywhere we're praying.
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But in their culture, that's what they did.
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Now, Daniel's house may have been a very nice house because of his position, uh, and he probably had some wealth, but it wasn't like raised up above everyone else, and you couldn't look through the whole city, and there is Daniel above the castle, praying out in front of the whole world.
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He just got a house, and he just goes to the room where he can see easier, and he opens the window and he's praying.
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It's just his character, it's the discipline that he's had.
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This is not some obnoxious flaunting of anything in front of anybody.
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But these guys who knew Daniel knew that was his character, and it was so dependable, his love for God and his discipline of prayer, that they built this entire political intrigue to trap him because of who he was.
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Sure enough, that happened.
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Verse 11, these men went as a group, found Daniel petitioning and imploring his God, so they approached the king and they said, Didn't you sign an edict that for thirty days any person who petitions any god or man except you the king will be thrown in the lion's den.
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And the king answered, As the law of the Medes and Persians, the order stands and is irrevocable.
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Then they replied, Daniel, one of the Judean exiles, has ignored you, the king, and the edict, and he prays three times a day.
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As soon as the king heard this, he was very displeased.
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He thinks highly enough of Daniel that he made him one of the three vice presidents in his cabinet.
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He set his mind on rescuing Daniel and made every effort until sundown to deliver him.
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So he pulls all these lawyers together and he's trying to figure out a loophole to save Daniel.
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Verse 15, these men went together to the king and they said, You gotta quit.
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You gotta quit.
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You know, your majesty, it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no edict can be changed.
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Daniel violated, you're stuck.
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And so the king gave the order in verse 16.
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They brought Daniel and threw him in the lion's den.
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King said to Daniel, May your God, whom you continually serve, rescue you.
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A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles.
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And the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting.
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This is a pagan king.
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We'll see that in a minute.
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He does not worship God.
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He respects Daniel's worship, but he doesn't worship.
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And yet he spends the entire night, the Bible says he doesn't sleep, there are no diversions brought to him, pacing and praying to a God he doesn't believe in, for this person, Daniel, because of his character.
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Verse 19, at the first light of dawn, the king got up, hurried to the lion's den.
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When he reached the den, he cried out in anguish, Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you continually serve, been able to rescue you from the lions?
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And Daniel spoke with the king.
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May the king live forever.
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My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouths, and they haven't harmed me, for I was found innocent before him.
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And also before you, your majesty, I have not done harm.
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He's making it clear.
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The king was overjoyed and gave orders to take Daniel out of the den.
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When Daniel was brought up to the den, he was found to be unharmed because he had trusted in his God.
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The king gave the command then that the men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the lion's dyn, along with their children and their wives.
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This is a pagan king.
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And yet Daniel's impact has risen to this level.
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They didn't reach the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
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Then King Darius wrote to those of every people nation, language who live on the whole earth, may your prosperity abound.
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I issue a decree that in all my royal dominion people must tremble in fear before the God of Daniel.
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For he is the living God, and he endures forever.
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That's an incredibly powerful impact.
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How does a person have that impact?
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Well, I want to show you four things, and I'm going to give them to you at a basic high level, and these four decisions, they are what produce a character.
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I want you to have them in this format as you read through the rest of the week, and you can see over again what these decisions mean and how God uses a man like Daniel to impact the secular culture that he's in.
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And it applies to us whether kids it's in school or whether it's friends or whether it's in the workplace where you are or wherever it is, this is how a person becomes a person of impact in a secular world.
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Now, it produces this character, and I want to remind you, what is that we're describing?
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Firm purpose, a determination that creates a forceful contact with a strong impact.
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Isn't that who we're supposed to be in our culture?
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I want you to see determination, identity, discipline, and servant leadership.
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First determination.
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We've been talking about it all along.
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Daniel determined in his heart.
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And because he determined in his heart as a young man in chapter one, he did not waver, and he is the same guy in chapter six.
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It is the power of that determination that he has said, I am going to be a follower of God and I am not going to waver.
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And it does not matter if they chop my head off or they throw me in the fire or they throw me in the lion's den, I don't care.
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I have made a determination that I'm going to follow God.
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He has determined.
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Listen, when you face the workplace and stuff that goes on there, or you face temptation or you face peer pressure at school, if you have not determined ahead of time who you're going to be, you will lose and you will waver.
00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:33.200
We determine at the beginning, in your quiet time in the morning, this is who I'm going to be.
00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:34.960
And it's all throughout Scripture.
00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:37.200
That's why Paul wrote Romans 12, 1 and 2.
00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:44.160
Therefore, brothers, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice.
00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:47.279
You determine ahead of time.
00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:49.920
I have surrendered myself to Jesus.
00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:52.640
Salvation is this, the mercies of God.
00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:57.440
We all know we're sinners, we're fallen, we've made mistakes, our sin must be punished.
00:19:57.680 --> 00:20:04.400
Jesus stepped out of heaven, lived a sinless life, and then went to the cross and there died in our place, shed his blood for us.
00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:14.240
There was no judgment attached to Jesus, and yet he voluntarily died there, so his death could be a substitute payment for our sins.
00:20:14.640 --> 00:20:17.519
And when you come to Christ, you do exactly what this verse says.
00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:20.160
You give your life to him because he gave his life for you.
00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:24.559
You take everything you have been, you are, and you ever will be, and you give it all to Jesus.
00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:28.880
And he says, once you've given your life to Jesus, it is your responsibility.
00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:30.799
It's not yours anymore.
00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:41.119
Your act of worship is to live out in a determined commitment what you committed to when you gave your life to Jesus.
00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:43.680
That's what that determination is.
00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:47.839
And so he says, give your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.
00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:48.960
That is your true worship.
00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:51.440
What is the result of that determination?
00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:52.880
Verse 2 says this.
00:20:53.119 --> 00:20:55.359
It gives us the same lesson we're learning from Daniel.
00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:57.200
Do not be conformed to this world.
00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:08.160
It's how we navigate the secular world that we're around, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:24.960
You become that person of Christ in that secular workplace, in that locker room, in that ball team, in that manufacturing line, in that teacher's lounge, in that hospital, wherever you are, God has changed you and you are impacting the world around you.
00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:27.839
And it begins with a determination that you've made.
00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:31.920
Now listen, that determination is what carries us through these circumstances.
00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:35.920
Think just for a moment as you read through Daniel, what you'll see.
00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:39.599
These are the circumstances that he was facing.
00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:43.039
Remember, determination is that firm purpose against that.
00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:47.440
First of all, he could have easily blamed God for the situation that he's in.
00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:49.680
I'm captive, I've been taken away from home.
00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:51.039
I don't know where my parents are.
00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:52.319
I'm stuck in this place.
00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:53.920
I'm in this Babylonian thing.
00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:55.200
I'm surrounded by all this.
00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:59.839
And all this is because God judged us, and I'm mad at God now for the circumstance.
00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:01.119
That I'm in.
00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:08.720
And there are people everywhere who are mad at God about this or that or this person they lost or they got fired from this or this thing didn't go the way they want.
00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:12.240
And they get mad at God because it didn't go the way they wanted it to go.
00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:14.559
Next thing you see, he is tempted.
00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:18.720
He goes in here and he's got this food and all of this lavish deal.
00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:24.079
Remember, the team is, the king is trying to tempt them and co-opt them into this.
00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:25.839
This is not prison food.
00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:28.079
This is not hospital food.
00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:35.920
This is like, let's, you know, put a napkin in and let's tie on the feed bag and saddle up here and have with it, right?
00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:39.440
I mean, this is, and he resists the temptation.
00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:41.279
There's a threat of punishment.
00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:44.640
You saw that with the king, the king's guard.
00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:45.839
He said, listen, I can't do that.
00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:48.720
Man, I'm going to chop off my head if this doesn't work with you guys.
00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:53.440
Daniel, under the threat of being thrown to the lion's den, as we'll see next week.
00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:57.200
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the threat of being thrown into the fire.
00:22:57.359 --> 00:23:05.119
There is the threat of punishment when we stand for Jesus in a place that is secular and not who God loves.
00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:08.480
And there's peer pressure.
00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:10.400
Man, you are way out of step.
00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:15.519
I told the Chaffee campus this morning when I was in law school, I was training to be a lawyer.
00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:17.279
My first career, I was a lawyer.
00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:19.039
And I love being a lawyer.
00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:20.240
I practiced law for six years.
00:23:20.319 --> 00:23:20.880
It was great.
00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:37.519
But when you're learning how to do that and step into that world, I had mentors who were teaching me, and a couple of them, some people that I dearly respected, one of them pulled me aside and said, Now listen, I know you parents raised you as a little Baptist boy, and you're all goody two shoes and all that.
00:23:37.759 --> 00:23:40.319
I want you to know being a lawyer is a lifestyle.
00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:42.480
First of all, that's ridiculous.
00:23:43.119 --> 00:23:45.599
But as a young person, this is what I'm being told.
00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:47.519
This is a lifestyle.
00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:48.799
Man, it's awesome.
00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:55.359
Like you wear expensive clothes and you drive expensive cars and you do this, and you got to fit in, Greg, if you want to be successful.
00:23:55.599 --> 00:23:57.519
When they go play golf, you've got to go play golf.
00:23:57.599 --> 00:23:59.359
And when they drink, you got to drink.
00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:04.400
And you can't make them feel bad about that, and you got to fit into the culture and you got to do all that.
00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:06.000
This is people telling me that.
00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:10.000
And when you are walking into a circumstance, you've got to fight that.
00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:11.119
And praise the Lord.
00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:15.680
My parents had taught me this lesson from Daniel, and I said, No, I'm not doing that.
00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:18.000
Don't care what it costs.
00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:19.599
I'm not doing that.
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.160
Because I'm a bloodbought child of God, and I'm going to live for Jesus in this world.
00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:26.640
And if it's not successful, I don't care.
00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:30.319
Because my audience is an audience of one, Jesus.
00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:35.759
And so we make this determination that ahead of time, I don't care what the results are, I'm going to live for Jesus.
00:24:35.920 --> 00:24:39.839
Which brings us to identity, your identity in Christ.
00:24:40.079 --> 00:24:43.200
And this is vitally important to us as believers.
00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:48.640
And this is one thing that folks miss a lot of times if they're not taught this kind of lesson.
00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:53.519
Daniel says he determined in his heart, but you can determine a lot of things.
00:24:53.680 --> 00:24:55.839
You can determine to go be successful.
00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:57.759
You can determine to go be rich.
00:24:57.920 --> 00:25:00.240
You can determine to go make a lot of money.
00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:07.440
Determination is one thing, but Daniel determined to be who God called him to be.
00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:12.400
And so he said, I've determined in my heart that I will not defile myself.
00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:16.720
I will not stop being a child of God and become a Babylonian.
00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:24.000
Or I will not stop being a man of God in the later chapter 6, and I will not become a Medo-Persian.
00:25:24.640 --> 00:25:27.519
I'm going to be who Jesus saved me to be.
00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:32.160
And that sense of identity should drive us in our lives.
00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:36.640
When you give your life to Christ, you are a blood-bought child of God.
00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:42.559
Bible says over and over and over things like, you once were this, and now you're this.
00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:49.039
When we teach how to grow in the Lord, identity is central to how we teach how we grow.
00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:50.319
You remember the triangle.
00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:52.240
We've talked about the triangle often and often.
00:25:52.319 --> 00:25:54.240
If you're new, this is what the triangle is.
00:25:54.319 --> 00:26:02.160
It's just a simple, easy spiritual formula of the elements that go into a life to help us grow to be like Jesus.
00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:03.920
It's an equilateral triangle.
00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:04.960
They all work together.
00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:07.680
Relationship is how we grow close to the Lord.
00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:09.680
It's prayer, Bible study, faith choices.
00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:13.440
It's what you're doing every morning when you're reading your chronological Bible.
00:26:13.680 --> 00:26:15.599
Ministry, it's serving.
00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:20.079
When God pours into us, we should be pouring out.
00:26:20.880 --> 00:26:24.640
And so we serve those around us because Jesus served us.
00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:27.119
He's given us that heart to serve, and we serve.
00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:30.640
But all of that is based on the foundation of our identity.
00:26:30.880 --> 00:26:33.519
Our identity is Jesus saved me.
00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:37.440
I once was lost, and now I'm found.
00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:42.880
I once was on my way to hell and Jesus cleansed me of my sin.
00:26:43.039 --> 00:26:45.200
He forgave me and now I'm on my way to heaven.
00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:47.599
I am a blood-bought child of God.
00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:48.559
I am his.
00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:50.799
It is no longer my life.
00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:52.640
He purchased it with his.
00:26:53.599 --> 00:26:56.400
And you are a member of the body of Christ.
00:26:56.640 --> 00:27:04.319
If God is our Heavenly Father and He adopts us, then everybody else He adopts are our brothers and sisters.
00:27:04.799 --> 00:27:05.279
Right?
00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:06.880
Doesn't that make sense?
00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:08.960
And so we have the same identity.
00:27:09.119 --> 00:27:11.759
And so you don't get the right to be a Long Ranger Christian.
00:27:11.839 --> 00:27:13.759
You don't get the right to go do whatever you want to do.
00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:17.039
And you don't get the right to skip church and be a part of whatever.
00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:21.519
God has saved you, and you are His.
00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:25.119
And your identity is I am a child of God.
00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:29.279
I am saved by Jesus Christ, and this is who now I now am.
00:27:29.599 --> 00:27:39.200
And your determination in life is these other things are not going to get in the way of who God saved me to be.
00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:42.640
Galatians 4, Galatians 5 are examples of that.
00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:45.920
They're all throughout the New Testament teaching us that truth.
00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:47.279
Now, how do I do that?
00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:50.480
That leads us to the third character trait: discipline.
00:27:50.720 --> 00:27:51.279
Discipline.
00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:56.319
If you want to think about it this way, it's putting your identity to behavior.
00:27:56.480 --> 00:27:57.519
That's a great way.
00:27:57.599 --> 00:27:58.720
I came up with that this week.
00:27:58.799 --> 00:27:59.599
I was really proud of that.
00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:01.279
Somebody needs to say amen over that.
00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:02.480
That was really good.
00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:07.440
It is behaving who I was saved to be.
00:28:08.079 --> 00:28:11.039
Same thing Paul says in Philippians chapter 4.
00:28:11.759 --> 00:28:12.720
You think about it.
00:28:12.799 --> 00:28:22.160
When Daniel made that determination in chapter 1, he created the discipline around that diet, which is deeper than just what he eats.
00:28:22.480 --> 00:28:33.920
It was his identity as a Jewish person and the teaching of those kosher food rules as a child of God, as an Old Testament Israelite, and all of that.
00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:43.359
And he understood that and he said, I am going to put into practice what I've been taught and what I believe, even in this secular culture.
00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:54.480
And that became such a part of his life because he built discipline to it that his discipline remained when it related to his prayer life in chapter 6.
00:28:54.799 --> 00:28:56.720
Now, listen, here's what I get all the time.
00:28:56.880 --> 00:28:59.039
I just want to take one second right here.
00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:03.839
We lose this in life today.
00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:10.640
We live in such a culture, again, we're navigating a secular culture.
00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:18.960
Our culture has become an emotional culture where we define everything by how we feel.
00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:22.799
I feel this, I feel that, I feel that.
00:29:23.279 --> 00:29:24.720
Here's the deal.
00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:33.039
When it comes time to judgment and evaluating our walk, nobody cares how you feel.
00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:36.240
It doesn't matter how you feel.
00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:39.279
Your feelings don't mean anything.
00:29:41.200 --> 00:29:44.319
Your behavior is what matters.
00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:49.680
Bottom line, did you put into practice your identity?
00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:55.039
Doesn't matter what you felt about your identity, is what you did.
00:29:55.519 --> 00:29:57.119
Jesus said this.
00:29:58.079 --> 00:30:05.200
He it is who loves me, who feels good about the Bible.
00:30:06.880 --> 00:30:10.319
He it is who loves me, feels good about church.
00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:15.519
Oh, we came and we sat in the music and we were, oh, I felt so encouraged.
00:30:15.599 --> 00:30:17.200
I felt so good today.
00:30:17.519 --> 00:30:19.759
And then Pastor brought us down.
00:30:20.640 --> 00:30:22.400
He's so legalistic.
00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:32.480
Oh, I just want to, I just want to bask in the presence of God and hurry up and get me out of here before the football games start because it's the first week at the NFL.
00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:35.920
And we can't watch college anymore because we're terrible.
00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:41.039
Unless you're an Oklahoma State cowboy.
00:30:41.200 --> 00:30:41.759
Amen?
00:30:43.200 --> 00:30:44.960
Way to go, cowboys.
00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:48.319
We feel about all these things.
00:30:48.480 --> 00:30:50.640
Nobody cares how you feel.
00:30:51.920 --> 00:30:56.400
It did not matter how Daniel felt about going in the lion's den.
00:30:57.519 --> 00:30:59.599
He behaved his identity.
00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:03.839
I'm crying out to the Lord, this is who I am.
00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:23.279
He understood they attacked his identity by getting the king to pass that law and to stop doing what they expected him to do was literally to change his character and walk away from who he was.
00:31:24.160 --> 00:31:25.440
I'm afraid.
00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:27.119
People are going to talk about me.
00:31:27.279 --> 00:31:28.640
I got these people depending on me.
00:31:28.799 --> 00:31:29.359
I feel all this.
00:31:29.519 --> 00:31:30.240
I feel all that.
00:31:30.400 --> 00:31:31.519
Who cares?
00:31:32.160 --> 00:31:41.039
At some point, we've got to get past all that emotional nonsense and walk with Jesus.
00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:48.000
It matters what you do in that secular place you are.
00:31:48.400 --> 00:31:50.480
And then finally, how you do is important.
00:31:51.359 --> 00:31:52.640
Servant leadership.
00:31:53.039 --> 00:31:53.839
This is the term.
00:31:53.920 --> 00:31:57.680
I'm not sure if it's the right term that fits, but it's a term we all understand.
00:31:57.920 --> 00:31:59.759
I want you to understand this.
00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:06.319
Daniel didn't go in there looking to get his head chopped off or looking to get thrown in the lion's den.
00:32:07.119 --> 00:32:08.160
Think through this.
00:32:08.400 --> 00:32:10.160
Daniel determined who he was.
00:32:10.319 --> 00:32:14.480
I am going to remain, my identity, a child of God.
00:32:14.640 --> 00:32:15.839
And who is God?
00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:18.319
God is the one who has promised redemption.
00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:22.000
He set up the Israelites to bring the Savior into the world.
00:32:22.079 --> 00:32:23.359
And it's the path that He's reading.
00:32:23.519 --> 00:32:28.240
It's why is He so serious about disciplining the children of Israel and going through captivity and all that?
00:32:28.400 --> 00:32:35.759
It's because they walked away from their mission and their identity to be the path to bring the Lamb of God into the world who would take away the sins of the world.
00:32:35.839 --> 00:32:37.359
That's why God was serious with that.
00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:38.960
And Daniel understood that.
00:32:39.039 --> 00:32:47.839
And if God is the God of redemption and we've messed that up, when I am going to be determined to meet my identity, I'm going to be a child of God.
00:32:47.920 --> 00:32:53.200
And what God does is brings grace and forgiveness into people who repent.
00:32:53.920 --> 00:32:59.599
And then he disciplines himself, and I'm going to live for Jesus, but he's not out there proving everybody wrong.
00:32:59.759 --> 00:33:03.519
He's not out there treating Babylonians or Medo-Persians as the enemy.
00:33:03.680 --> 00:33:08.319
He's not out there trying to win arguments intellectually.
00:33:08.559 --> 00:33:11.839
He is trying to live for Jesus in that setting.
00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:13.599
And so you think what happens?
00:33:13.839 --> 00:33:20.400
It starts with this sense that he wants to win people over to who God is.
00:33:21.359 --> 00:33:27.599
He starts with this man who's the guard, who's feeding them, and he says, Listen, bro, we can't eat that.
00:33:27.680 --> 00:33:28.319
I can't eat that.
00:33:28.400 --> 00:33:30.319
I got to eat vegetables and drink water.
00:33:30.400 --> 00:33:35.440
And I'm thinking, I would starve to death if I was running with Daniel.
00:33:36.880 --> 00:33:39.279
But Daniel's like, no, this is what we have to do.
00:33:39.440 --> 00:33:44.079
And the guy says, Listen, I hear you, but they're going to cut my head off if I do this.
00:33:44.319 --> 00:33:48.160
And Daniel doesn't dump on him, Janel doesn't fight him, Daniel doesn't ridicule him.
00:33:48.319 --> 00:33:52.480
Daniel understands where he is in his questions and his desires to win him over.
00:33:52.640 --> 00:33:55.039
And he says, Listen, can we just go 10 days?
00:33:55.200 --> 00:33:56.559
Let's just test this out.
00:33:56.720 --> 00:33:57.920
If it works, we're great.
00:33:58.079 --> 00:34:00.319
If it doesn't, we'll figure something else out.
00:34:00.559 --> 00:34:05.519
And he thinks about where that guy is and what he's sitting in and what his questions are and what his struggles are.
00:34:05.680 --> 00:34:08.079
And so he helps that guy through that.
00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:18.320
And they win, and I guarantee you, that guy has a whole different picture of who the God of Israel is after working with Daniel and seeing that happen.
00:34:18.559 --> 00:34:25.599
Later on, as you continue to read, there's a point where the king has this dream that disturbs him, and I'll do this real fast.
00:34:25.760 --> 00:34:28.639
He says, Listen, he calls all his wise men in.
00:34:28.719 --> 00:34:30.159
He goes, Listen, here's what I need you to do.
00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:32.800
I had this dream, it's messing with me, and I don't understand it.
00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:36.320
I need you guys to tell me the dream and the interpretation.
00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:39.679
And they're like, How are we supposed to tell you what you dreamed?
00:34:39.840 --> 00:34:42.000
You tell us the dream and we'll tell you the interpretation.
00:34:42.079 --> 00:34:44.320
And the king says, No, I know how you guys are.
00:34:44.480 --> 00:34:46.000
Y'all just make up stuff.
00:34:46.159 --> 00:34:48.559
So if I tell you what the dream is, y'all don't really know what it is.
00:34:48.639 --> 00:34:50.400
You're just gonna make up stuff about what it is.
00:34:50.559 --> 00:34:54.719
So you have to tell me the dream and the interpretation, or I'm gonna cut your head off.
00:34:55.760 --> 00:34:59.280
They're big about cutting people's heads off in Babylon.
00:34:59.519 --> 00:35:05.199
So Daniel comes in and God speaks to him and he goes to the king and he says, Listen, I will tell you the dream and the interpretation.
00:35:05.360 --> 00:35:11.519
He does that, but then Daniel says, Listen, don't cut the heads off the other wise men.
00:35:11.840 --> 00:35:13.679
It's not their fault.
00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:15.840
They couldn't do it.
00:35:16.079 --> 00:35:22.719
Only God can do this, and I only did it because God gave me the message, and here it is.
00:35:23.760 --> 00:35:25.360
Daniel's trying to win people over.
00:35:25.440 --> 00:35:39.280
How in the world do you be raised up to that level in a Babylonian empire, and then the Medes and the Persians come in and they keep you in this position where you're the vice president over one-third of the government?
00:35:39.679 --> 00:36:00.719
It's not because you're running around poking everybody in the eye and trying to win arguments, it's because you're living for Jesus and there's a reality in your life that's so clear you're great at what you do, your integrity is unassailable, and his faith is the only thing they have to assault him with.
00:36:01.440 --> 00:36:04.719
And yet the king still has that kind of respect for him.
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We are to go out and be successful and influence and have impact and be excellent at what we do, but as a testimony of who God is so that we can share Jesus with the people around us.
00:36:23.840 --> 00:36:26.159
And the result of that is impact.
00:36:26.400 --> 00:36:28.719
Why don't you bow your heads as we close this morning?
00:36:28.960 --> 00:36:38.480
If you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, I can't think of a better picture of what it means to become a Christian and what God does in the life of a believer.
00:36:38.559 --> 00:36:42.079
If you've never accepted Christ as your Savior, I'm going to invite you to come.
00:36:42.559 --> 00:36:47.599
We're going to sing an invitation, and if you need Jesus, this is an opportunity for you to come.
00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:55.119
Maybe you're not ready to make that decision, but you have questions, just come and we'll set up a time to sit down and talk, have coffee, whatever.
00:36:55.280 --> 00:36:58.400
I promise you, we will not eat vegetables and water.
00:36:59.840 --> 00:37:05.199
But we will get an opportunity to share, give you promises from God's word.
00:37:05.840 --> 00:37:17.280
We want you to know Jesus, and we want you to see that your identity in Him becomes a child of God that walks with Him and He works with us.
00:37:18.800 --> 00:37:24.559
If you're searching, I'd encourage you to take these four points and just read through Daniel with us and you watch it happen.
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And you ask the Lord if that's what he does.
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You need a church home, come be a part of a church family with us.
00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:34.880
Come grow with us, come impact with us.
00:37:35.199 --> 00:37:36.320
Lord, we love you today.
00:37:36.480 --> 00:37:38.880
We thank you for this incredible lesson.
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How practical, how clear.
00:37:40.880 --> 00:37:47.039
And I pray as we start to read through the book that these four principles you will use to draw us to you.
00:37:47.119 --> 00:37:48.159
In Jesus' name we pray.
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All God's people said, We pray this message has been a blessing to you and helped to strengthen your walk with Jesus.
00:37:55.119 --> 00:37:57.920
Please know we want to minister to you and pray for you.
00:37:58.079 --> 00:38:05.519
Send an email to contact us at fsfbc.org and let us pray for you and help you in any way we can.
00:38:05.920 --> 00:38:12.079
Thank you for listening to chapter and first, the Bible teaching ministry of Fort Smith, the First Baptist Church.
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Ministering to the heart of Western Arkansas's River Valley for over 165 years, welcome to Chapter and First, the Bible teaching ministry at Fort Smith's First Baptist Church.
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You'll find sermons and teachings from Pastor Greg, our ministry staff, and guest speakers.
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Thank you for listening.
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Thank you, Aaron Choir, for that beautiful song.
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Turn with me your Bibles to Daniel chapter 6.
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This is a great time if you've gotten off track as we're reading chronologically through Scripture.
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We're starting a new book, and we're starting the last run as we move into the New Testament.
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And so I want to encourage you.
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This is a great time to jump in.
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And over the next three weeks, I'm going to do a study on the themes through the book of Daniel.
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Daniel's an incredible character in Scripture, and I think has incredible application for us in our modern life today.
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Daniel was a man who we're in the captivity time of Israel.
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As you know, Israel went through civil wars.
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We studied and they split, and there were ten tribes and they were conquered.
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And then there were two tribes, the nation of Judah, and they lasted a little bit longer, but they didn't walk with God, so they were conquered.
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And as we've seen with Ezekiel and Jeremiah in the last couple of weeks, they were conquered by the nation of Babylon.
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Daniel is a captive that's taken to Babylon.
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And we'll read in a moment how they were trying to co-opt him into the culture of Babylon.
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But interesting enough, Daniel survives through multiple regime changes.
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Later on, the Babylonian Empire is conquered, and another one, the Medo-Persian Empire, comes in and takes over.
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And Daniel actually rises to a level of government importance and authority under the Babylonian rule, excuse me, and in a culture where when another country would take over, they'd kill everybody and cut their heads off who was in charge in the previous nation.
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Daniel has the ability to, in God given favor, to last and navigate his way into a position of leadership in a later different nation and people group.
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It's an incredibly profound factual effect and story in the life of Daniel.
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And so I want to just show you over the next three weeks how that works.
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So today we're going to talk about, in the next three weeks, we're going to talk about how to navigate as a Christian in a secular culture.
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Now, I'm going to try to give you today and just an overview in a few moments, four character traits about how we begin this journey of as Christians navigating our way through secular culture, but in a way that we're able to impact the culture and it not impact us.
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You'll see in a moment the phrase that Daniel determined in his heart not to defile himself.
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And the first thing that we have to understand to have an impact in the culture that we're in is we have to make a determination that we're going to walk with Jesus regardless of what's around us and what we face.
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In fact, let me give you these two definitions as a way to get started today.
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The first one is determination, and it's determination that results in impact.
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Let me define those two terms for you.
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Determination is described this way: a firm purpose, a strong will to achieve a goal despite difficulties.
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Now you can wander around life or you can just kind of happy go lucky go through it, but every time you hit a barrier, every time you hit a wall, something else, you're either going to stop or you're going to tack in a different direction or some kind of a deal.
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How are we going to live for Jesus and not let the culture impact us?
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It is a determination to do that.
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And then I love this definition of impact.
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It is a forceful contact or crash between two objects.
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It creates a strong effect on something.
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And so if you put those together, that's really what our Christian life should be.
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We should live in a determined, with a strong purpose.
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I am going to live for Jesus, and this is what I'm going to do.
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And when we go into the culture, we create a forceful contact with the people around us under the power of the Holy Spirit and Jesus living in and through us that impacts the culture around us.
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That's what you're going to see in the life of Daniel.
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I want you to read with me in chapter 6 here of Daniel.
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Now we started reading today, and I know you read chapters 1 through 3, but we're going to start in 6, and I'm going to connect the dots with chapter 1, because Daniel makes the determination in chapter 1 under King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, but you see in chapter 6, Daniel is still in this position of leadership because of that decision to determine.
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So here's what the Bible says, chapter 6, verse 1, Darius.
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He is now the king.
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He is the king of the Medo-Persians.
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So that regime change has already occurred.
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Darius decided to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom stationed throughout the realm, and over them three administrators, including Daniel.
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So he's structuring his government.
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Bunch of departments, got three department heads, three vice presidents, and Daniel's one of those.
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These satraps would be accountable to them so that the king would not be defrauded.
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Daniel distinguished himself above the administrators and satraps because he had an extraordinary spirit.
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So the king planned to set him over the whole realm.
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How do you have that kind of extraordinary spirit?
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It comes from the work of God in a person's life.
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The administrators, verse 4 and satraps, therefore, kept trying to find a charge against Daniel.
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This is political intrigue now, regarding the kingdom.
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But they could find no charge or corruption because Daniel was trustworthy.
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And no negligence or corruption was found in him.
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You get that?
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Not even negligence.
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They couldn't even find stuff he was faking his way through or oopsing his way through or not paying attention to.
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It's incredible.
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There's a whole sermon in just this verse or two right here.
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Then these men said, We will never find any charge against this Daniel unless we find something against him concerning the law of his God.
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In other words, he does such a good job.
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He is such a professional.
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We'll never find anything wrong to attack him with.
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So in this political attack, this political intrigue, this all this kind of stuff, just like we see in Washington and places like that, that's what's going on here.
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They decide his faith will be his downfall because he never varies from that either.
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He never wavers, and that's what will catch him.
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Where does that kind of character get created?
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Well, look back in Daniel chapter 1.
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If you have chapter 1, we're not going to read the whole story.
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Time doesn't permit.
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But I'm going to just pick a couple of things here real fast so you can see how this established, how this character is established.
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Chapter 1, what the Bible tells us is King Nebuchadnezzar.
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Now we're back to the Babylonians.
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They captured all these people and brought them in.
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And so what happens is, verse 3, the king orders his chief eunuch to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility, young men without any physical defect, good looking, suitable for instruction and wisdom, knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king's palace.
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If you need a picture of that, you saw Luis, one of our student teams on that video.
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Just picture Luis and Pastor Matt.
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That's two good-looking young guys right there who are sharp and talented, right?
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That's what you get.
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So he says he was to teach them the Chaldean language and literature.
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What he's trying to do is take these Israelites and he's trying to co-opt them into the culture of the Babylonians.
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He's trying to turn them into Babylonians.
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He wants them to adopt their secular culture and walk away from their identity as followers of God.
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If he can do that and create leaders all throughout, then all the others who are captives there are going to follow in line.
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And he's trying to incorporate them into their nation.
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So you're reducing the amount of rebellion that happens and all this kind of stuff.
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You're trying to turn them into Babylonians.
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That's what's happening here.
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He says the king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank.
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And so he is really trying to lavish on them this incredible hospitality to affirm them, to tempt them, to engage them to become Babylonians and quit being followers of God.
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The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and the wine that he drank.
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They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to attend the king.
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And it tells us it's Daniel.
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And then three guys will meet next week, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
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Verse 8, Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king's food or with the wine he drank.
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So he asked permission from the chief eunuch not to defile himself.
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Now I want you to get those two terms right there.
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Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king's food.
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It probably was not kosher, it didn't meet Israelite dietary laws, but even more than that, he's like, I am not going to become Babylonian.
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So he asked that permission.
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God granted Daniel kindness and compassion from the chief eunuch, yet that guy said to Daniel, I fear my Lord the king who assigned you your food and drink.
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What if he sees your faces thinner than the other guys?
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You would endanger my life with a king.
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In other words, if I feed you what you want and I feed them that, and you guys can't keep up, they're going to come ask me what happened with these four guys, and I'm going to have to say, we were feeding them something else.
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And he goes, I told you what to feed, you violated my rules.
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Those guys lag behind because of what you did.
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I'm going to chop off your head.
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And so he's telling Daniel, I can't do this because I can't put my life at risk.
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So Daniel said to the guard whom the eunuch had assigned them, Please test your servants for ten days.
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Let us be given vegetables to eat, water to drink, then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young man who were eating the king's food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.
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Then it goes on to tell us that they did that, and it actually worked, and they were very healthy, and God gave them favor.
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Verse 6, the administrators and the satraps went together to the king, and they said to him, May King Darius live forever.
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You see, people who kiss up to the boss have been around forever, and that's what they're doing.
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All the administrators of the kingdom, the precepts, the governors, have agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an edict, that for thirty days anyone who prays or petitions to any God or man except you, the king, you see stroking his ego here, will be thrown into the lion's den.
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Therefore, your majesty establish the edict, sign the document, so that as a law of the Medes and Persians, that is a very key phrase you'll see repeated again.
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Their culture and the way they're structured.
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Man, when they put it into law, their culture was this was law.
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And this became an idiom that people knew.
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Laws on the Medes and Persians.
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Even the king could not violate this law in their culture.
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Now you got other nations where the king thought he was God and he could do whatever he wanted to do, and he did it regardless of what the law was.
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That's not their culture.
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So he signs it in the law.
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Verse 10, when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house.
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The windows in his upstairs room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God just as he had done before.
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Now it's important to get this picture right here.
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Because sometimes you go like an old school Sunday school and you got these pictures and these paintings of all this, and they paint Daniel's house as this house that stands up above everything else, and you can see him over the whole skyline, and he throws the windows open, and he's pleading before God in front of the whole community.
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That is not what's happening here.
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This is not some obnoxious violation of the law or something like that that Daniel's doing.
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First thing you have to understand is the Middle Eastern culture.
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You understand this if you have a Muslim friend or if you've seen that.
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In their culture from the Middle East, what they do is, you know, a few times a day, they get out their rug or their place where they pray and they turn themselves back towards the site of their religion, where that is, and they pray in that direction, and it's a discipline of worship how they do that.
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In that Middle Eastern culture, Jewish people did the same thing.
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People around there did the same thing.
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Especially with Daniel and other captives, they're no longer in Israel.
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And when they would pray, as we're all commanded to pray, as they were supposed to pray, they would face back towards Jerusalem, as was the culture of that time.
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Now, we don't have to, you know, we're out praying or we're doing whatever.
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We don't have to face back to Jerusalem or face back to the church or whatever kind of a deal.
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God is everywhere we're praying.
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But in their culture, that's what they did.
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Now, Daniel's house may have been a very nice house because of his position, uh, and he probably had some wealth, but it wasn't like raised up above everyone else, and you couldn't look through the whole city, and there is Daniel above the castle, praying out in front of the whole world.
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He just got a house, and he just goes to the room where he can see easier, and he opens the window and he's praying.
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It's just his character, it's the discipline that he's had.
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This is not some obnoxious flaunting of anything in front of anybody.
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But these guys who knew Daniel knew that was his character, and it was so dependable, his love for God and his discipline of prayer, that they built this entire political intrigue to trap him because of who he was.
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Sure enough, that happened.
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Verse 11, these men went as a group, found Daniel petitioning and imploring his God, so they approached the king and they said, Didn't you sign an edict that for thirty days any person who petitions any god or man except you the king will be thrown in the lion's den.
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And the king answered, As the law of the Medes and Persians, the order stands and is irrevocable.
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Then they replied, Daniel, one of the Judean exiles, has ignored you, the king, and the edict, and he prays three times a day.
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As soon as the king heard this, he was very displeased.
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He thinks highly enough of Daniel that he made him one of the three vice presidents in his cabinet.
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He set his mind on rescuing Daniel and made every effort until sundown to deliver him.
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So he pulls all these lawyers together and he's trying to figure out a loophole to save Daniel.
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Verse 15, these men went together to the king and they said, You gotta quit.
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You gotta quit.
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You know, your majesty, it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no edict can be changed.
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Daniel violated, you're stuck.
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And so the king gave the order in verse 16.
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They brought Daniel and threw him in the lion's den.
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King said to Daniel, May your God, whom you continually serve, rescue you.
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A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signet rings of his nobles.
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And the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting.
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This is a pagan king.
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We'll see that in a minute.
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He does not worship God.
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He respects Daniel's worship, but he doesn't worship.
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And yet he spends the entire night, the Bible says he doesn't sleep, there are no diversions brought to him, pacing and praying to a God he doesn't believe in, for this person, Daniel, because of his character.
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Verse 19, at the first light of dawn, the king got up, hurried to the lion's den.
00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:10.960
When he reached the den, he cried out in anguish, Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you continually serve, been able to rescue you from the lions?
00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:14.240
And Daniel spoke with the king.
00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:16.879
May the king live forever.
00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:23.360
My God sent his angel and shut the lion's mouths, and they haven't harmed me, for I was found innocent before him.
00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:28.639
And also before you, your majesty, I have not done harm.
00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:30.799
He's making it clear.
00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:34.480
The king was overjoyed and gave orders to take Daniel out of the den.
00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:41.039
When Daniel was brought up to the den, he was found to be unharmed because he had trusted in his God.
00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:51.200
The king gave the command then that the men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the lion's dyn, along with their children and their wives.
00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:53.600
This is a pagan king.
00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:57.840
And yet Daniel's impact has risen to this level.
00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:01.759
They didn't reach the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:08.240
Then King Darius wrote to those of every people nation, language who live on the whole earth, may your prosperity abound.
00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:18.640
I issue a decree that in all my royal dominion people must tremble in fear before the God of Daniel.
00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:23.599
For he is the living God, and he endures forever.
00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:26.799
That's an incredibly powerful impact.
00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:29.440
How does a person have that impact?
00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:40.720
Well, I want to show you four things, and I'm going to give them to you at a basic high level, and these four decisions, they are what produce a character.
00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:56.400
I want you to have them in this format as you read through the rest of the week, and you can see over again what these decisions mean and how God uses a man like Daniel to impact the secular culture that he's in.
00:17:56.559 --> 00:18:11.680
And it applies to us whether kids it's in school or whether it's friends or whether it's in the workplace where you are or wherever it is, this is how a person becomes a person of impact in a secular world.
00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:16.640
Now, it produces this character, and I want to remind you, what is that we're describing?
00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:23.920
Firm purpose, a determination that creates a forceful contact with a strong impact.
00:18:24.079 --> 00:18:26.880
Isn't that who we're supposed to be in our culture?
00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:31.200
I want you to see determination, identity, discipline, and servant leadership.
00:18:31.359 --> 00:18:32.240
First determination.
00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:34.400
We've been talking about it all along.
00:18:34.720 --> 00:18:37.119
Daniel determined in his heart.
00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:47.519
And because he determined in his heart as a young man in chapter one, he did not waver, and he is the same guy in chapter six.
00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:54.720
It is the power of that determination that he has said, I am going to be a follower of God and I am not going to waver.
00:18:54.799 --> 00:19:00.880
And it does not matter if they chop my head off or they throw me in the fire or they throw me in the lion's den, I don't care.
00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:04.319
I have made a determination that I'm going to follow God.
00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:06.400
He has determined.
00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:25.759
Listen, when you face the workplace and stuff that goes on there, or you face temptation or you face peer pressure at school, if you have not determined ahead of time who you're going to be, you will lose and you will waver.
00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:33.200
We determine at the beginning, in your quiet time in the morning, this is who I'm going to be.
00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:34.960
And it's all throughout Scripture.
00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:37.200
That's why Paul wrote Romans 12, 1 and 2.
00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:44.160
Therefore, brothers, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice.
00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:47.279
You determine ahead of time.
00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:49.920
I have surrendered myself to Jesus.
00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:52.640
Salvation is this, the mercies of God.
00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:57.440
We all know we're sinners, we're fallen, we've made mistakes, our sin must be punished.
00:19:57.680 --> 00:20:04.400
Jesus stepped out of heaven, lived a sinless life, and then went to the cross and there died in our place, shed his blood for us.
00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:14.240
There was no judgment attached to Jesus, and yet he voluntarily died there, so his death could be a substitute payment for our sins.
00:20:14.640 --> 00:20:17.519
And when you come to Christ, you do exactly what this verse says.
00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:20.160
You give your life to him because he gave his life for you.
00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:24.559
You take everything you have been, you are, and you ever will be, and you give it all to Jesus.
00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:28.880
And he says, once you've given your life to Jesus, it is your responsibility.
00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:30.799
It's not yours anymore.
00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:41.119
Your act of worship is to live out in a determined commitment what you committed to when you gave your life to Jesus.
00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:43.680
That's what that determination is.
00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:47.839
And so he says, give your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.
00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:48.960
That is your true worship.
00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:51.440
What is the result of that determination?
00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:52.880
Verse 2 says this.
00:20:53.119 --> 00:20:55.359
It gives us the same lesson we're learning from Daniel.
00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:57.200
Do not be conformed to this world.
00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:08.160
It's how we navigate the secular world that we're around, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:24.960
You become that person of Christ in that secular workplace, in that locker room, in that ball team, in that manufacturing line, in that teacher's lounge, in that hospital, wherever you are, God has changed you and you are impacting the world around you.
00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:27.839
And it begins with a determination that you've made.
00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:31.920
Now listen, that determination is what carries us through these circumstances.
00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:35.920
Think just for a moment as you read through Daniel, what you'll see.
00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:39.599
These are the circumstances that he was facing.
00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:43.039
Remember, determination is that firm purpose against that.
00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:47.440
First of all, he could have easily blamed God for the situation that he's in.
00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:49.680
I'm captive, I've been taken away from home.
00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:51.039
I don't know where my parents are.
00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:52.319
I'm stuck in this place.
00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:53.920
I'm in this Babylonian thing.
00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:55.200
I'm surrounded by all this.
00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:59.839
And all this is because God judged us, and I'm mad at God now for the circumstance.
00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:01.119
That I'm in.
00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:08.720
And there are people everywhere who are mad at God about this or that or this person they lost or they got fired from this or this thing didn't go the way they want.
00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:12.240
And they get mad at God because it didn't go the way they wanted it to go.
00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:14.559
Next thing you see, he is tempted.
00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:18.720
He goes in here and he's got this food and all of this lavish deal.
00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:24.079
Remember, the team is, the king is trying to tempt them and co-opt them into this.
00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:25.839
This is not prison food.
00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:28.079
This is not hospital food.
00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:35.920
This is like, let's, you know, put a napkin in and let's tie on the feed bag and saddle up here and have with it, right?
00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:39.440
I mean, this is, and he resists the temptation.
00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:41.279
There's a threat of punishment.
00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:44.640
You saw that with the king, the king's guard.
00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:45.839
He said, listen, I can't do that.
00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:48.720
Man, I'm going to chop off my head if this doesn't work with you guys.
00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:53.440
Daniel, under the threat of being thrown to the lion's den, as we'll see next week.
00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:57.200
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the threat of being thrown into the fire.
00:22:57.359 --> 00:23:05.119
There is the threat of punishment when we stand for Jesus in a place that is secular and not who God loves.
00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:08.480
And there's peer pressure.
00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:10.400
Man, you are way out of step.
00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:15.519
I told the Chaffee campus this morning when I was in law school, I was training to be a lawyer.
00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:17.279
My first career, I was a lawyer.
00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:19.039
And I love being a lawyer.
00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:20.240
I practiced law for six years.
00:23:20.319 --> 00:23:20.880
It was great.
00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:37.519
But when you're learning how to do that and step into that world, I had mentors who were teaching me, and a couple of them, some people that I dearly respected, one of them pulled me aside and said, Now listen, I know you parents raised you as a little Baptist boy, and you're all goody two shoes and all that.
00:23:37.759 --> 00:23:40.319
I want you to know being a lawyer is a lifestyle.
00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:42.480
First of all, that's ridiculous.
00:23:43.119 --> 00:23:45.599
But as a young person, this is what I'm being told.
00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:47.519
This is a lifestyle.
00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:48.799
Man, it's awesome.
00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:55.359
Like you wear expensive clothes and you drive expensive cars and you do this, and you got to fit in, Greg, if you want to be successful.
00:23:55.599 --> 00:23:57.519
When they go play golf, you've got to go play golf.
00:23:57.599 --> 00:23:59.359
And when they drink, you got to drink.
00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:04.400
And you can't make them feel bad about that, and you got to fit into the culture and you got to do all that.
00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:06.000
This is people telling me that.
00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:10.000
And when you are walking into a circumstance, you've got to fight that.
00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:11.119
And praise the Lord.
00:24:11.200 --> 00:24:15.680
My parents had taught me this lesson from Daniel, and I said, No, I'm not doing that.
00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:18.000
Don't care what it costs.
00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:19.599
I'm not doing that.
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.160
Because I'm a bloodbought child of God, and I'm going to live for Jesus in this world.
00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:26.640
And if it's not successful, I don't care.
00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:30.319
Because my audience is an audience of one, Jesus.
00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:35.759
And so we make this determination that ahead of time, I don't care what the results are, I'm going to live for Jesus.
00:24:35.920 --> 00:24:39.839
Which brings us to identity, your identity in Christ.
00:24:40.079 --> 00:24:43.200
And this is vitally important to us as believers.
00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:48.640
And this is one thing that folks miss a lot of times if they're not taught this kind of lesson.
00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:53.519
Daniel says he determined in his heart, but you can determine a lot of things.
00:24:53.680 --> 00:24:55.839
You can determine to go be successful.
00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:57.759
You can determine to go be rich.
00:24:57.920 --> 00:25:00.240
You can determine to go make a lot of money.
00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:07.440
Determination is one thing, but Daniel determined to be who God called him to be.
00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:12.400
And so he said, I've determined in my heart that I will not defile myself.
00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:16.720
I will not stop being a child of God and become a Babylonian.
00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:24.000
Or I will not stop being a man of God in the later chapter 6, and I will not become a Medo-Persian.
00:25:24.640 --> 00:25:27.519
I'm going to be who Jesus saved me to be.
00:25:27.839 --> 00:25:32.160
And that sense of identity should drive us in our lives.
00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:36.640
When you give your life to Christ, you are a blood-bought child of God.
00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:42.559
Bible says over and over and over things like, you once were this, and now you're this.
00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:49.039
When we teach how to grow in the Lord, identity is central to how we teach how we grow.
00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:50.319
You remember the triangle.
00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:52.240
We've talked about the triangle often and often.
00:25:52.319 --> 00:25:54.240
If you're new, this is what the triangle is.
00:25:54.319 --> 00:26:02.160
It's just a simple, easy spiritual formula of the elements that go into a life to help us grow to be like Jesus.
00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:03.920
It's an equilateral triangle.
00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:04.960
They all work together.
00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:07.680
Relationship is how we grow close to the Lord.
00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:09.680
It's prayer, Bible study, faith choices.
00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:13.440
It's what you're doing every morning when you're reading your chronological Bible.
00:26:13.680 --> 00:26:15.599
Ministry, it's serving.
00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:20.079
When God pours into us, we should be pouring out.
00:26:20.880 --> 00:26:24.640
And so we serve those around us because Jesus served us.
00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:27.119
He's given us that heart to serve, and we serve.
00:26:27.359 --> 00:26:30.640
But all of that is based on the foundation of our identity.
00:26:30.880 --> 00:26:33.519
Our identity is Jesus saved me.
00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:37.440
I once was lost, and now I'm found.
00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:42.880
I once was on my way to hell and Jesus cleansed me of my sin.
00:26:43.039 --> 00:26:45.200
He forgave me and now I'm on my way to heaven.
00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:47.599
I am a blood-bought child of God.
00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:48.559
I am his.
00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:50.799
It is no longer my life.
00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:52.640
He purchased it with his.
00:26:53.599 --> 00:26:56.400
And you are a member of the body of Christ.
00:26:56.640 --> 00:27:04.319
If God is our Heavenly Father and He adopts us, then everybody else He adopts are our brothers and sisters.
00:27:04.799 --> 00:27:05.279
Right?
00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:06.880
Doesn't that make sense?
00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:08.960
And so we have the same identity.
00:27:09.119 --> 00:27:11.759
And so you don't get the right to be a Long Ranger Christian.
00:27:11.839 --> 00:27:13.759
You don't get the right to go do whatever you want to do.
00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:17.039
And you don't get the right to skip church and be a part of whatever.
00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:21.519
God has saved you, and you are His.
00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:25.119
And your identity is I am a child of God.
00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:29.279
I am saved by Jesus Christ, and this is who now I now am.
00:27:29.599 --> 00:27:39.200
And your determination in life is these other things are not going to get in the way of who God saved me to be.
00:27:39.519 --> 00:27:42.640
Galatians 4, Galatians 5 are examples of that.
00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:45.920
They're all throughout the New Testament teaching us that truth.
00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:47.279
Now, how do I do that?
00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:50.480
That leads us to the third character trait: discipline.
00:27:50.720 --> 00:27:51.279
Discipline.
00:27:51.440 --> 00:27:56.319
If you want to think about it this way, it's putting your identity to behavior.
00:27:56.480 --> 00:27:57.519
That's a great way.
00:27:57.599 --> 00:27:58.720
I came up with that this week.
00:27:58.799 --> 00:27:59.599
I was really proud of that.
00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:01.279
Somebody needs to say amen over that.
00:28:01.359 --> 00:28:02.480
That was really good.
00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:07.440
It is behaving who I was saved to be.
00:28:08.079 --> 00:28:11.039
Same thing Paul says in Philippians chapter 4.
00:28:11.759 --> 00:28:12.720
You think about it.
00:28:12.799 --> 00:28:22.160
When Daniel made that determination in chapter 1, he created the discipline around that diet, which is deeper than just what he eats.
00:28:22.480 --> 00:28:33.920
It was his identity as a Jewish person and the teaching of those kosher food rules as a child of God, as an Old Testament Israelite, and all of that.
00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:43.359
And he understood that and he said, I am going to put into practice what I've been taught and what I believe, even in this secular culture.
00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:54.480
And that became such a part of his life because he built discipline to it that his discipline remained when it related to his prayer life in chapter 6.
00:28:54.799 --> 00:28:56.720
Now, listen, here's what I get all the time.
00:28:56.880 --> 00:28:59.039
I just want to take one second right here.
00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:03.839
We lose this in life today.
00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:10.640
We live in such a culture, again, we're navigating a secular culture.
00:29:10.880 --> 00:29:18.960
Our culture has become an emotional culture where we define everything by how we feel.
00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:22.799
I feel this, I feel that, I feel that.
00:29:23.279 --> 00:29:24.720
Here's the deal.
00:29:25.200 --> 00:29:33.039
When it comes time to judgment and evaluating our walk, nobody cares how you feel.
00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:36.240
It doesn't matter how you feel.
00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:39.279
Your feelings don't mean anything.
00:29:41.200 --> 00:29:44.319
Your behavior is what matters.
00:29:45.039 --> 00:29:49.680
Bottom line, did you put into practice your identity?
00:29:49.920 --> 00:29:55.039
Doesn't matter what you felt about your identity, is what you did.
00:29:55.519 --> 00:29:57.119
Jesus said this.
00:29:58.079 --> 00:30:05.200
He it is who loves me, who feels good about the Bible.
00:30:06.880 --> 00:30:10.319
He it is who loves me, feels good about church.
00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:15.519
Oh, we came and we sat in the music and we were, oh, I felt so encouraged.
00:30:15.599 --> 00:30:17.200
I felt so good today.
00:30:17.519 --> 00:30:19.759
And then Pastor brought us down.
00:30:20.640 --> 00:30:22.400
He's so legalistic.
00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:32.480
Oh, I just want to, I just want to bask in the presence of God and hurry up and get me out of here before the football games start because it's the first week at the NFL.
00:30:32.799 --> 00:30:35.920
And we can't watch college anymore because we're terrible.
00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:41.039
Unless you're an Oklahoma State cowboy.
00:30:41.200 --> 00:30:41.759
Amen?
00:30:43.200 --> 00:30:44.960
Way to go, cowboys.
00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:48.319
We feel about all these things.
00:30:48.480 --> 00:30:50.640
Nobody cares how you feel.
00:30:51.920 --> 00:30:56.400
It did not matter how Daniel felt about going in the lion's den.
00:30:57.519 --> 00:30:59.599
He behaved his identity.
00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:03.839
I'm crying out to the Lord, this is who I am.
00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:23.279
He understood they attacked his identity by getting the king to pass that law and to stop doing what they expected him to do was literally to change his character and walk away from who he was.
00:31:24.160 --> 00:31:25.440
I'm afraid.
00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:27.119
People are going to talk about me.
00:31:27.279 --> 00:31:28.640
I got these people depending on me.
00:31:28.799 --> 00:31:29.359
I feel all this.
00:31:29.519 --> 00:31:30.240
I feel all that.
00:31:30.400 --> 00:31:31.519
Who cares?
00:31:32.160 --> 00:31:41.039
At some point, we've got to get past all that emotional nonsense and walk with Jesus.
00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:48.000
It matters what you do in that secular place you are.
00:31:48.400 --> 00:31:50.480
And then finally, how you do is important.
00:31:51.359 --> 00:31:52.640
Servant leadership.
00:31:53.039 --> 00:31:53.839
This is the term.
00:31:53.920 --> 00:31:57.680
I'm not sure if it's the right term that fits, but it's a term we all understand.
00:31:57.920 --> 00:31:59.759
I want you to understand this.
00:32:00.400 --> 00:32:06.319
Daniel didn't go in there looking to get his head chopped off or looking to get thrown in the lion's den.
00:32:07.119 --> 00:32:08.160
Think through this.
00:32:08.400 --> 00:32:10.160
Daniel determined who he was.
00:32:10.319 --> 00:32:14.480
I am going to remain, my identity, a child of God.
00:32:14.640 --> 00:32:15.839
And who is God?
00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:18.319
God is the one who has promised redemption.
00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:22.000
He set up the Israelites to bring the Savior into the world.
00:32:22.079 --> 00:32:23.359
And it's the path that He's reading.
00:32:23.519 --> 00:32:28.240
It's why is He so serious about disciplining the children of Israel and going through captivity and all that?
00:32:28.400 --> 00:32:35.759
It's because they walked away from their mission and their identity to be the path to bring the Lamb of God into the world who would take away the sins of the world.
00:32:35.839 --> 00:32:37.359
That's why God was serious with that.
00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:38.960
And Daniel understood that.
00:32:39.039 --> 00:32:47.839
And if God is the God of redemption and we've messed that up, when I am going to be determined to meet my identity, I'm going to be a child of God.
00:32:47.920 --> 00:32:53.200
And what God does is brings grace and forgiveness into people who repent.
00:32:53.920 --> 00:32:59.599
And then he disciplines himself, and I'm going to live for Jesus, but he's not out there proving everybody wrong.
00:32:59.759 --> 00:33:03.519
He's not out there treating Babylonians or Medo-Persians as the enemy.
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He's not out there trying to win arguments intellectually.
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He is trying to live for Jesus in that setting.
00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:13.599
And so you think what happens?
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It starts with this sense that he wants to win people over to who God is.
00:33:21.359 --> 00:33:27.599
He starts with this man who's the guard, who's feeding them, and he says, Listen, bro, we can't eat that.
00:33:27.680 --> 00:33:28.319
I can't eat that.
00:33:28.400 --> 00:33:30.319
I got to eat vegetables and drink water.
00:33:30.400 --> 00:33:35.440
And I'm thinking, I would starve to death if I was running with Daniel.
00:33:36.880 --> 00:33:39.279
But Daniel's like, no, this is what we have to do.
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And the guy says, Listen, I hear you, but they're going to cut my head off if I do this.
00:33:44.319 --> 00:33:48.160
And Daniel doesn't dump on him, Janel doesn't fight him, Daniel doesn't ridicule him.
00:33:48.319 --> 00:33:52.480
Daniel understands where he is in his questions and his desires to win him over.
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And he says, Listen, can we just go 10 days?
00:33:55.200 --> 00:33:56.559
Let's just test this out.
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If it works, we're great.
00:33:58.079 --> 00:34:00.319
If it doesn't, we'll figure something else out.
00:34:00.559 --> 00:34:05.519
And he thinks about where that guy is and what he's sitting in and what his questions are and what his struggles are.
00:34:05.680 --> 00:34:08.079
And so he helps that guy through that.
00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:18.320
And they win, and I guarantee you, that guy has a whole different picture of who the God of Israel is after working with Daniel and seeing that happen.
00:34:18.559 --> 00:34:25.599
Later on, as you continue to read, there's a point where the king has this dream that disturbs him, and I'll do this real fast.
00:34:25.760 --> 00:34:28.639
He says, Listen, he calls all his wise men in.
00:34:28.719 --> 00:34:30.159
He goes, Listen, here's what I need you to do.
00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:32.800
I had this dream, it's messing with me, and I don't understand it.
00:34:32.880 --> 00:34:36.320
I need you guys to tell me the dream and the interpretation.
00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:39.679
And they're like, How are we supposed to tell you what you dreamed?
00:34:39.840 --> 00:34:42.000
You tell us the dream and we'll tell you the interpretation.
00:34:42.079 --> 00:34:44.320
And the king says, No, I know how you guys are.
00:34:44.480 --> 00:34:46.000
Y'all just make up stuff.
00:34:46.159 --> 00:34:48.559
So if I tell you what the dream is, y'all don't really know what it is.
00:34:48.639 --> 00:34:50.400
You're just gonna make up stuff about what it is.
00:34:50.559 --> 00:34:54.719
So you have to tell me the dream and the interpretation, or I'm gonna cut your head off.
00:34:55.760 --> 00:34:59.280
They're big about cutting people's heads off in Babylon.
00:34:59.519 --> 00:35:05.199
So Daniel comes in and God speaks to him and he goes to the king and he says, Listen, I will tell you the dream and the interpretation.
00:35:05.360 --> 00:35:11.519
He does that, but then Daniel says, Listen, don't cut the heads off the other wise men.
00:35:11.840 --> 00:35:13.679
It's not their fault.
00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:15.840
They couldn't do it.
00:35:16.079 --> 00:35:22.719
Only God can do this, and I only did it because God gave me the message, and here it is.
00:35:23.760 --> 00:35:25.360
Daniel's trying to win people over.
00:35:25.440 --> 00:35:39.280
How in the world do you be raised up to that level in a Babylonian empire, and then the Medes and the Persians come in and they keep you in this position where you're the vice president over one-third of the government?
00:35:39.679 --> 00:36:00.719
It's not because you're running around poking everybody in the eye and trying to win arguments, it's because you're living for Jesus and there's a reality in your life that's so clear you're great at what you do, your integrity is unassailable, and his faith is the only thing they have to assault him with.
00:36:01.440 --> 00:36:04.719
And yet the king still has that kind of respect for him.
00:36:07.039 --> 00:36:22.639
We are to go out and be successful and influence and have impact and be excellent at what we do, but as a testimony of who God is so that we can share Jesus with the people around us.
00:36:23.840 --> 00:36:26.159
And the result of that is impact.
00:36:26.400 --> 00:36:28.719
Why don't you bow your heads as we close this morning?
00:36:28.960 --> 00:36:38.480
If you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, I can't think of a better picture of what it means to become a Christian and what God does in the life of a believer.
00:36:38.559 --> 00:36:42.079
If you've never accepted Christ as your Savior, I'm going to invite you to come.
00:36:42.559 --> 00:36:47.599
We're going to sing an invitation, and if you need Jesus, this is an opportunity for you to come.
00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:55.119
Maybe you're not ready to make that decision, but you have questions, just come and we'll set up a time to sit down and talk, have coffee, whatever.
00:36:55.280 --> 00:36:58.400
I promise you, we will not eat vegetables and water.
00:36:59.840 --> 00:37:05.199
But we will get an opportunity to share, give you promises from God's word.
00:37:05.840 --> 00:37:17.280
We want you to know Jesus, and we want you to see that your identity in Him becomes a child of God that walks with Him and He works with us.
00:37:18.800 --> 00:37:24.559
If you're searching, I'd encourage you to take these four points and just read through Daniel with us and you watch it happen.
00:37:24.719 --> 00:37:27.599
And you ask the Lord if that's what he does.
00:37:28.400 --> 00:37:31.840
You need a church home, come be a part of a church family with us.
00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:34.880
Come grow with us, come impact with us.
00:37:35.199 --> 00:37:36.320
Lord, we love you today.
00:37:36.480 --> 00:37:38.880
We thank you for this incredible lesson.
00:37:39.199 --> 00:37:40.719
How practical, how clear.
00:37:40.880 --> 00:37:47.039
And I pray as we start to read through the book that these four principles you will use to draw us to you.
00:37:47.119 --> 00:37:48.159
In Jesus' name we pray.
00:37:48.320 --> 00:37:54.880
All God's people said, We pray this message has been a blessing to you and helped to strengthen your walk with Jesus.
00:37:55.119 --> 00:37:57.920
Please know we want to minister to you and pray for you.
00:37:58.079 --> 00:38:05.519
Send an email to contact us at fsfbc.org and let us pray for you and help you in any way we can.
00:38:05.920 --> 00:38:12.079
Thank you for listening to chapter and first, the Bible teaching ministry of Fort Smith, the First Baptist Church.
