Daniel 1:1-8 – Dare to Obey – Bible study

Daniel 1:1-8 Dare to Obey The Book of Daniel is not JUST about God or Israel or prophecy. It is about young people doing right. The first three chapters of this book have a special emphasis on four young men, probably just teenage boys as the story begins. The story will continue to focus on Daniel but after chapter three, Daniel wont be the boy being taught. He will be the man doing the teaching. In fact, before the story is completely told, Daniel will be an old man, probably 80 or more years old. But it all starts with an emphasis on young people. In chapter one, we see some young people who dared to obey God. I. Why are the youth of a nation so important? A. The youth of a nation always carry it. 1. It may be that the WEALTH of the older folk finance the nation. 2 And it may be that the WISDOM of the older folk lead the nation. 3. But it is the STRENGTH of the YOUTH that carry it. a. It is not the middle aged or old who fight in the wars. It is the young. (1) The draft never started at 45 or 50. It starts at 18. (2) Most branches of service will not even accept a person in their 30s if they have not had some previous military experience. b. In America today, it is not even the middle aged or older entrepreneurs who carry the country. It is the youth. (1) Especially in these modern days, it is the youth who have determined the countrys direction and made millions doing so. Young millionaire: Mark Zuckerberg, 26 His claim to fame: Zuckerberg co-founded Facebook, which this year will bring in anywhere from $710 million to $1 billion in revenue, according to various reports. Zuckerbergs own wealth is believed to be $4 billion at least on paper. Young millionaire: Stacey Bendet, 32 Her claim to fame: She founded alice + olivia, a wildly successful womens clothing line, which brings in a reported $50 million a year. Young millionaires: Dennis Crowley, 33, and Naveen Selvadurai, 28 Their claim to fame: They founded Foursquare, which has been valued at $80 million. Young millionaire: Aaron Patzer, 30 His claim to fame: He created Mint.com, a money-management site. In 2009, Intuit bought it for $170 million. Young millionaire: Andrew Mason, 29 His claim to fame: He created Groupon, a coupon site like no other. Revenue is estimated to hit $350 million in 2010, and the company has been valued at $1.2 billion. Young millionaire: David Chang, 32 His claim to fame: Back in 2004, he created Momofuku, a noodle bar in New York City, which has since spawned a mini empire of line-out-the-door restaurants across the Big Apple. Young millionaires: Chad Hurley, 34; Steve Chen, 32; Jawed Karim, 31 Their claim to fame: They co-founded YouTube. Young millionaire: Kevin Rose, 33 His claim to fame: He created Digg, a content-sharing site with estimated revenue of $31 million. http://smallbusiness.aol.com/2010/05/27/meet-the-new-young-millionaires/ (2) I could not find the statistic, but I believe I would be right in saying we have more millionaires in America today who earned their fortunes than ever before. c. But, and I say this somewhat sadly, it is also the youth who direct the standards and general moral conditions of America today. (1) Rock-n-Roll and Rap was a young persons phenomenal. (2) Mini-skirts, shorty-shorts, Girls-Gone-Wild, the sexual revolutionall of these were created by Americas youth. (3) Even worse, the drug culture was started by the youth of Americanot todays youth, but by youth none-the-less. (4) Protests of the youth have exited us out of wars and moved us to become a GREENER nation. (5) The right and wrongs of America are determined by the youth. (a) Why? (b) Because they outlast the older people. (c) Sooner or later, the youth always take charge. B. Christian young people, you must determine what the legacy of your generation will be for America and get busy making sure it happens! 1. The last generations of youth seemed concerned with saving the whales. I hope you will be more concerned with saving souls. 2. The last generations of youth seemed consumed with entertainment. I hope you will be consumed with Christ. 3. The last generations of youth seemed preoccupied with self. I hope you will be preoccupied with others. 4. The last generations of youth seem devoted to getting as much as they could while giving as little as possible. I hope you will be devoted to giving as much as you can while taking as little as possible. C. The young men of this Book were those kinds of youth. D. Before I get too far into this message, let me speak to all of those who are not-youths anymore. 1. There is another reason why young people set the direction for a nation. 2. It is because they are willing. a. They are willing to throw themselves into a task. b. They are not too busy. They are not too settled. They are too set in their ways. c. Now, some of that might just be because they are too foolish or because the not-youths have too many responsibilities to change directions. 3. The truth is, there is no reason why this message cannot speak to us not-youths just as much as it might speak to a youth. 4. It really ought to be the men and women of the nation who determine they want to do something meaningful with their lives today. II. Notice how these young men influenced a nation for God. A. \#8\ They influenced a nation with a decision. 1. This decision had to do with two issues. a. These two issues actually hold the key to the next generations ability to make a real difference in American. (They hold the key to every generations ability to make a difference in America.) (1) God had told the children of Israel not to eat certain foods. (2) To have disobeyed that command, meant two things. (a) To eat unclean food, made the eater unclean. So if they ate the food the king was providing, these Jewish boys would have been unclean or defiled. Dan 1:8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with. (b) The command came from God. If these Jewish boys ate the food God told them not to eat, they would be in disobedience to God. b. A person will never make any difference for good in their generation, unless they determine these two issues. (1) More than any other generation, this generation needs to do an about-face on their views of purity. (a) Purity relates to your body and whether you will keep it clean or not. (b) While it is only a skin-deep issue, it is important because the flesh is where we live right now. (c) People, young and old, are driven by the desires of our bodies and the test of purity becomes the test to determine whether we will live fleshly lives or not. (d) As there has never been a greater opportunity for godly youth to impact a nation, so there has never been a generation that has given up so much for the pleasure of their body. (e) And yet, purity is just one link in the overall chain which is the other issue. (2) Obedience to God. (a) This is where the heart of every issue lies. (b) Daniel objected to eating the kings food because God had told him not to eat that kind of food. (c) He wanted to stay pure because he wanted to obey God. 2. Consider the consequences of their decision. a. Perhaps you think that there were no consequences or only small consequences to their decision. b. Later, these young men will help to determine the fate of nations, kingdoms, and all the subjects therein. c But right now, their decisions would only effect their lives and their walk with God. (1) HOWEVER. that is far bigger an issue than most think. (2) In fact, most peopleyoung and old often excuse what they are doing now thinking that it is somehow "not all that important." (3) Your present decisions set a habit and course for your life. (a) If you do not make it your practice and habit to obey God now, when will you? (b) And just as important, you need to remember that what you do now effects all of your tomorrows. 3. So how serious could the consequences be for these young men? a. On the kings side, their decision would determine things like being promoted or demoted, being imprisoned or being free, getting the best education or receiving no education, maybe even living or dying, (1) That is pretty major consequences. (2) However, they were not and are not the most important. b. On Gods side, you are either right with Him or not 4. The question is, "Just how bad does it bother you to disobey God? a. Lesson – If you dont start obeying God over the things that you think are small, you will not obey God over the things that you think will determine your course in life. b. However, they determined that if they did not obey God in the small matters, they would not obey God in the big matters. B. \#11-14\ They influenced a nation with a plan. 1. I notice that Daniel did not just make a decision. Along with that decision, he had a plan. a. Daniels plan was to effect Gods will. b. Daniels plan was to work with those who could make things happen. c. Daniels plan was to let God do the work. d. Lets consider each of these. 2. Daniel had a plan to effect Gods will. a. We know that ultimately, God is the One who makes all things work. b. However, God is not opposed to us setting all of our might and energy to making it happen. (1) We make plans to graduate. (2) We make plans for a career. (3) We make plans for marriage. c. Why not make plans to do something for God? (1) It is always enjoyable when something wonderfully just happens. God does that sometimes. (2) But more great things happen by design than by lack of design. (a) Moses did not happen by Pharaohs palace. i. He planned to be there. ii. God directed Him and no plan will be worth anything if God is not directing you, but God can use a plan. (b) Joshua did not happen to walk near Jericho. Under Gods direction, he planned to be there. (c) Jesus did not just happen by Calvary. He planned to be there. (3) Yesterday, several of the men worked to build a wheel chair ramp. Somebody had to measure and work out a plan. (4) We are in the process of building a new building. Before we can start, somebody will have to work up a plan. (5) Madam, sir, young person, just what are you plans for God? 3. Daniel worked with those who could make things happen. a. If you want to do something for God, you are going to have to get with some people who can make it happen. (1) I have no idea what God might want some of you to do. (2) But regardless of what it is, you are going to need some people around you that can help you do it. b. Like who? (1) Some of those people are going to be godly warriors. (a) Daniel was not alone. (b) Daniel had three friends. (c) These friends would put their lives on the line for him as is recorded in chapter 1, but they would also put their lives on the line for God as is recorded in chapter 2. (d) Everyone needs people around them that will bring out the best in them, not the worst. (e) Find some God-fearing, God-loving, God-honoring friends your own age and see if you and they can not harness yourselves together to do more for Christ as a team than you might ever could alone. (2) Some of those people are going to be godly educators. (a) I want to say something a little tricky. (b) Young people, most of you need to exceed what you are presently planning. (c) There is nothing wrong with being a godly miner, or construction worker, or office manager, or a even a doctor, lawyer, or business person. (d) But if we dont get some preachers, missionaries, and politicians out of some God-fearing churches just like Green Pond Baptist Church, this country is lost. (e) We have the kind of young people in our church that could make some excellent preachers, missionaries, or even mayors, governors, congress- persons, or even president or two. (f) Some need to quit looking at education like the enemy and start seeing it as an opportunity from God. 4. Daniels plan was to let God work. Daniel 1:12 Prove thy servants. a. In fact, a key to Daniels plan was to let God work. (1) His plan was to put God to the test. (2) He wanted to get the keeper to let him and his friends eat the kind of food that God had commanded for 10 days and during that 10 days, let God work. (3) If God did not use the food that God had commanded the Jews to eat to make them more healthier than the kings food, they would end up eating the kings food or starving. (4) Daniels plan was banking on God working! b. Any plan you can devise should count on God working! (1) If God is not going to be working, why do we want to we want to be involved in the project anyway? (2) We have a part in the work of God. (a) Our part is to do the work. (b) We are Gods hands, feet, mouth, so forth. (3) But God has a part in the work of God too. (a) His part is to do the blessing! (b) We need to pray, discern His will, devise a plan, do some work, and then watch for God to bless it. (c) If there is no blessing, it might well be that God is not in it! c. Christians, plan on God showing up! (1) Prove Him. (2) Do the promises of God work? (3) If they work, rely on them. If they dont, lets get another book and another God! C. \#15-16\ They influenced a nation with a realization. a. The realization that God does work! b. That should not surprise us. a. It might have surprised Ashpenaz. b. It might have surprised some of the other prisoners under his care. c. But it should not surprise us to find out that God does what says He will do. There is more to this story. God rewards these young men in \#17-20\. He promotes them to be leaders in Nebuchadnezzers kingdom, and through them, they touch the king, the kings court, the citizens, the nation, and even the world both then and since then. But the point is not that they were rewarded for what they did. The point is that these men dared to obey God while they were young. Whether you are a youth or a not-youth, God desires obedience. 1. Maybe you need to obey Him concerning salvation. 2. Maybe you need to obey Him concerning repentance. 3. Maybe you need to obey Him concerning His calling for you life. In whatever area, would you dare to obey God today?