Dare to be Different (Daniel 1)
Billy Milton - January 11, 2004
Good morning, and welcome to another year in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ. How did it go with you last year? Did you become an agent for change? Did you discover your purpose in life and follow it through? Are you still pursuing the goal of holiness in your life? Or was 2003 another year of willing spirit but weak flesh? Never mind, whether you feel happy with your Christian walk or whether you’ve never really got off the starting block, 2004 is another year and another opportunity.
We have some exciting plans for this year as a church beginning this morning with a new series on the life of Daniel and building up to another series, similar to the 40 Days of Purpose called An ordinary day with Jesus. We’ll be giving you more details about that as we draw nearer the starting date. Meanwhile we are anticipating our first time of prayer and fasting this new year and we will be startiŁng that on Wednesday night in KRC at 7.30pm. Please come along and support the work of KRC and if you’ve never fasted before and would like to try this spiritual discipline then talk to Ron or myself and we’ll give you advice on how to get started.
But, whatever else you do this year I want to challenge you all this morning with the title of our talk - “Dare to be Different”! In the words of almost every self-help guru in existence, “If you want to be somewhere different then you need to do something different.” Is 2004 the year when you will be different; when you’ll get some much needed discipline into your life; when you’ll shift the focus of your life onto what really matters? It can be you know. If you do want to be different then this series on Daniel will be just what you need to get you going and to encourage you each week. Listen to some of the themes of our talks each Sunday over the next couple of months:-
God has all the answers; No compromise; Integrity under pressure; why do bad things happen to good people?
Now in order to get the most out of these series the first thing you need to do is be here! So right at the start of the year I’m going to ask you all to make a resolution. Resolve to be here as often as is possible. Visit your families on a Saturday; take your kids out on Sunday afternoon; fall ill on a Monday… but get to church every week and be built up by stirring messages from God’s word!! If you don’t dare to be different in this area then 2004 might be just as fruitless as 2003 in the area of your spiritual growth. So to Daniel.
Introduction:
Today’s message is where the rubber meets the road in the Christian life. Most of us know how to put our Sunday faces on. We know how we ought to behave, the tone our voices should take, and all the other Christian trappings that we bring to our public worship. The key question today is… who are you when no one is looking? If you have trusted Jesus as your personal Saviour, you owe it to Him to live for Him. Most people seem pretty good at first glance. Some of you children and teenagers brought up in a Christian home have good manners in public… you have not been involved in the sins that your peers have been, because your parents, because they love you, have set limits. But… who will you be when no one is looking? Who will you be behind closed doors? Today we will see that there was a teenager who had to face this question in a very real way. Today we can learn from a young man who dared to be different… even when no one was looking.
I. There Will Be Times When No One Is Looking. Daniel 1:3-4
The people of Judah were under siege. It was about 605 BC and Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon had them in his powerful grasp. God was judging the nation of Judah for its rebellion by allowing this captivity. The first thing that Nebuchadnezzar did was to round up the gifted young men of Judah, kidnapping them from their families and friends, and taking them off to a strange, pagan, foreign land. Daniel was one of these young men that were carried off. Daniel was raised to fear the God of Israel. He knew the law. He dared not rebel against the teachings of his parents or the temple priests. In one day this all changed.
They didn’t voluntarily choose to relocate to Babylon thinking it would be a great opportunity to seek a career advancement. Babylon was a place of idol worship. True enough it was a place of worldly elegance, intellectual advancement and wealth. A bit like modern day London in fact. Its “Hanging Gardens” were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was, nevertheless, the living, breathing, representation of all that was wicked and detestable to any Hebrew man or woman. Going to Babylon was not only a physical disruption of their lives it was also a mental, emotional and spiritual earthquake.
Daniel would have to learn to handle this new environment. The really interesting thing about this matter of change lies in the fact that he would have to learn to change within this strange environment while maintaining his personal integrity and without compromising his faith in God. This fact is one of the reasons the Holy Spirit has placed this story in our Bibles. It is a story of faith triumphing over unwanted and tragic circumstances. The Holy Spirit is saying, “He did it! So can you!”
So young Daniel was taken from the watchful eyes of his parents. Even though he was in captivity, surely his pagan captors would allow Daniel to do some things that his faithful, Godly parents would not. He was removed from the supervision of the temple priests. They would always be harping on about dietary laws that were supposed to make him stand out from the rest of the world. To live as a Jew… one of God’s chosen people, was to be different. Surely his new Babylonian bosses would not require these things. If he had ever wondered what it would be like to taste the food that the world ate, now was his chance. Daniel was removed from everything that he knew. He had no one looking over his shoulder. He could do what he would regarding his strict religious background… and no one would bother him. No one was looking!
How do you behave when a time of big change comes along? Maybe a new school or a new job or even a new country? None of the old friends, no parents, no peers that know that you are Christian. We live in a changing world and all of us at sometime will find ourselves away from those that might pressure us to do right. I’ve no doubt that some of us enjoy going to work day after day, because it gets us out from under the watchful eyes of our spouse and our children. You can “relax and let your hair down” with your work mates. In a sense, you are in a place where you feel that no one is looking. We are living in an age when even in our solitude, we are connected. When you find yourself alone in the home, no spouse, no kids… what choices do you make with the radio, the TV, the internet? It’s during these times of being alone and without accountability that we are the most vulnerable. Given that we are all vulnerable, some more than others, it just re-enforces the need to meet together regularly to support and encourage each other to stand firm when the temptations come along. Positive peer pressure.
II. You Must Determine Not To Be Defiled. Daniel 1:8
v8 Daniel resolved - placed in his heart. Food was the issue where he chose to make a stand - what is your issue? Once you find it, it will change the whole character of the rest of your life. But here is a crucial piece of advice which I feel that most of you instinctively know but often don’t follow. It’s something I’ve spoken about often since I’ve been here. You must make the decision to do right before you are in the heat of the moment, tempted to do wrong. Many times someone ends up in sin because he has made little weak decisions all along that lead to his fall. If you struggle with alcohol, don’t set foot in a pub. If you don’t intend to lose your virginity before marriage, don’t spend long periods of time alone with someone of the opposite sex. Determine in your heart before the temptation comes not to be defiled.
As soon as Daniel realised where he was, he made that decision. He could have crossed the line of purity, and no one would have thought any less of him. He was in a culture that would accept it. But DO NOT DETERMINE WHAT IS RIGHT BASED UPON CULTURAL NORMS!! Let us not miss the point of this passage. This is not about being a vegetarian or obeying the Old Testament Law. What we are being taught here is to follow the principle of being undefiled by the world. Daniel made up his mind not to be defiled. Daniel was going to dare to be different from the pagan culture that had swallowed him.
The Bible tells us quite clearly that as Christians we too are in an alien culture. How are you going to deport yourself in this environment? In church that’s easy, but what about when no one is looking??? You had better make that decision ahead of time. This decision must be made without trying to pragmatically weigh up the consequences and ramifications. Is it right?? Then stand!! Do not calculate to see if you will still be able to find a mate, or if you will remain popular, or if you will still have good standing at work. Take your stand based on God’s unchanging truth first!
III. You Must Bring Your Stand Out In The Open. Daniel 1:8-9
Here is one of the most practical and important points of the passage. Once you have purposed in your heart to make a stand on an issue of purity… LET THE WORLD KNOW WHERE YOU STAND!! Once you commit publicly, it’s much tougher to change your mind. That’s true in any area of your life, isn’t it? Once Daniel made a big deal about his dietary conviction, it would be hard to ask some of his Babylonian friends for a piece of bacon!! If you are going public with this conviction… it has to be personal. I get concerned when a teenager makes a stand by saying “my parents won’t let me do this”. As soon as no one is looking that teenager will test the boundaries and break their parents hearts! My pastor does not allow… My church does not believe… Get off it!! Get some conviction of your own!! If you don’t, then you will never stand when no one is looking.
IV. Once you make your stand, be willing to be tested. Daniel 1:10-16.
The world would make you believe that its ridiculous and harmful to remain pure and separate. You will never find a good career if you don’t go to the “booze it or lose it” university. You’ll never get promoted if you don’t drink after work with the other guys! You’ll never find a mate if you stick with the local church. You will never have a boyfriend if you stick with your stand to never touch until your wedding day. Listen! The proof is in the results!! Daniel stood his ground. The authorities had their doubts. When they got a look at the effect that God’s standards had on the young men, all were on God’s diet!
There will come a time in your week this week that you will be alone. Are you going to dare to be different? You had better make the decision to stand apart from the rot of the world now. Let others know about your stand. When it comes right down to it, God will bless your stand, and all will see that you are a person of integrity ….even when no one is looking. Someone who dares to be different.