Distinct In Exile

Please open up your Bibles this morning to the book of Daniel.

And we're beginning a new series this morning in the book of Daniel.

And I've been excited about opening up this book with you.

But I also got to admit, I'm a little intimidated by this book.

Daniel is not an easy book.

It's not an easy book to understand.

It's not an easy book to interpret.

And I'm finding out it's not an easy book to preach.

And so I appreciate your prayers for me.

And as we begin, I would just like to give this qualification.

You know, if you're not used to hearing a pastor or a preacher say things like,

Hey, I'm not really sure what this means.

Get used to it.

We're about to hear that a lot as we walk through this book together.

But all scripture is God-breathed.

And is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.

And so I am excited to open this book up together and hear from the word of the Lord.

And grow together as we walk through the book of Daniel.

So if you found it in your Bibles, Daniel is right there after the book of Ezekiel.

Right before the book of Hosea.

I do want you to have your Bibles open so we can lay eyes on it there together.

And our passage this morning is going to be all of chapter 1.

And so let's stand together in honor of the reading of God's word.

Daniel chapter 1.

Daniel 1 · chapter mention

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah,

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand

with some of the vessels of the house of God.

And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his God,

and placed the vessels in the treasury of his God.

Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch,

to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility,

youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom,

endowed with knowledge, understanding, learning,

and competent to stand in the king's palace,

and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.

The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate,

and of the wine that he drank.

They were to be educated for three years,

and at the end of that time, they were to stand before the king.

Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah.

And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names.

Daniel he called Belteshazzar,

Hananiah he called Shadrach,

Mishael he called Meshach,

and Azariah he called Abednego.

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food,

or with the wine that he drank.

Therefore, he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.

And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs.

And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel,

I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink.

For why should he see that you are in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age?

So you would endanger my head with the king.

Then Daniel said to the steward,

whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel,

Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

Test your servants for ten days.

Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.

Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you,

and deal with your servants according to what you see.

So he listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days.

And at the end of the ten days,

it was seen that they were better in appearance

and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food.

So the steward took away their food and the wine that they were to drink

and gave them vegetables.

As for these four youths,

God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom.

And Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

At the end of the time,

when the king had commanded that they should be brought in,

the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.

And the king spoke with them,

and among all of them,

none was found like Daniel,

Hananiah,

Mishael,

and Azariah.

Therefore they stood before the king.

And in every matter of wisdom and understanding

about which the king inquired of them,

he found them ten times better

than all the magicians and enchancers

that were in all his kingdom.

And Daniel was there until the first year

of King Cyrus.

The grass withers and the flower fades,

but the word of the Lord endures forever.

Lord, we praise you for your word.

And again, as we open up a new book this morning,

we pray you would speak powerfully to us

through your word.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

When I was a college student,

I was proud to be the only American member

of the International Students Club.

I saw that there was an opportunity there

for ministry.

The nations had come to my backyard

there in Milledgeville, Georgia.

And I wanted to influence as many of them

as I possibly could

with the good news of the gospel

before they finished their studies

and went back to their home countries.

And so I made friends

with the international students.

I made friends from Kenya,

friends from Pakistan.

But eventually I got to know

several of the Chinese students.

In fact, Amanda and I,

in our first apartment complex

that we lived in,

there in our college town

after we got married,

it was surrounded,

all of our neighbors were Chinese.

And a couple of times a month,

sometimes more than that,

we would be sitting in our living room,

hanging out, watching television,

whatever it might be,

and we would begin to smell

this incredible aroma

wafting through the walls,

the paper-thin walls

of our apartment complex,

coming in from the apartment next door.

And after a while,

we caught on.

We knew what it was.

It must be Dumpling Night.

Soon enough,

we would start to hear

the voices gather.

We would hear the footsteps

up the stairs.

We would hear the people

coming together

in the apartment next door,

sometimes 10,

sometimes 15,

sometimes 20 Chinese students,

gathering together

to get a little taste of home

while they were living

in a foreign land.

You see,

something that we learned

very quickly

about these Chinese students

was that

while they were interested

in learning about

American culture,

they wanted to be here,

they came here intentionally,

even so,

they were eager

to maintain

their own

distinct identity

while they were living

on foreign soil.

they knew that

their identity,

they were Chinese men and women

on temporary assignment

here in America.

Well,

this morning,

as we begin the book of Daniel,

what we find is that

Daniel is living

in foreign territory.

He's in exile.

He's not just

a foreign exchange student.

He hasn't come here willingly.

He's been taken captive

out of his homeland.

He's not excited

about learning

the culture of Babylon.

But by God's

sovereign appointment,

he's here in Babylon.

And by God's grace,

he shows us

what it looks like

for us

to maintain

our distinct identity

as citizens

of God's kingdom

even while living

here

in foreign

enemy territory.

The book of Daniel

communicates

key theological truths

for exiles.

And so,

we'll begin

the book of Daniel

this morning

with two key truths

for exiles

this morning.

Two key truths

for exiles

to remember

this morning.

This will be our outline

if you're taking notes

this morning.

Two key truths

to remember

in time of exile.

First,

the first truth

for exiles

to remember

is that

God

is

king.

God

is

king.

And we'll get

to Daniel

in a moment.

But even though

the book of Daniel

bears his name,

what I want us to

understand here

in this first point

is that the book

of Daniel

ultimately

is not primarily

about Daniel.

It's about

Daniel's God.

The book of Daniel

is about

the Lord.

And we learn

from Daniel

and we learn

from his story,

but the primary

lesson that runs

throughout the book

of Daniel

is that

there is a

God

who reigns

and rules

over all

of human history.

That there is

a God

and that

he

is king.

Look there

to verse 1.

So the book

of Daniel,

it begins

with a grim

picture of

the state

of God's

people.

It says,

In the third

year of the reign

of Jehoiakim,

king of Judah,

Nebuchadnezzar,

king of Babylon,

came to Jerusalem

and besieged it.

King Jehoiakim,

he ruled from

609 B.C.

to 598 B.C.

over Judah.

And as you read

through the

biblical historical

books,

they give you

a pretty clear

sense of,

hey,

this king

was a good

king.

He led his

people well.

He honored

the Lord.

This king

was an evil

king.

He led the

people astray

into idolatry.

King Jehoiakim,

I'm not going

to get this

right,

y'all.

King Jehoiakim

was an evil

king.

Say that 10

times fast.

And in the

third year

of his reign,

Babylon comes

in and takes

over.

This was a

three-part

takeover.

605 B.C.

was the first

wave,

and that's when

Daniel and his

friends are

taken away.

There's a second

wave in 597,

and then again

in 587 B.C.,

and by this point

there's not much

left of the city

at all.

This is a dark

moment in the

history of God's

people,

men and women.

children are

brutally murdered.

The city is

destroyed.

The temple is

destroyed.

The city itself

by 587 is

burned to the

ground.

The city,

this nation

that was meant

to be the

central place

of God's

presence,

the central

place of God's

glory in the

midst of all the

earth,

was now totally

taken over and

destroyed by a

pagan nation.

From a purely

human vantage

point,

from a purely

human perspective,

this looks like

defeat,

doesn't it?

Everything is

falling apart.

Verse 2,

it tells us that

Nebuchadnezzar,

he took some of

the vessels out

of the house of

God and brought

them into the

house of his

God and placed

the vessels in

the treasury of

his God.

This is an

apparent triumph

of the gods of

Babylon over

the God of

Jerusalem.

It's an apparent

triumph of a

sinful nation

over and against

God's people.

How can this

be?

Why in the

world is this

happening?

If you know

your Old

Testament,

this shouldn't

come as a

surprise at all,

should it?

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 28 · chapter mention

chapter 28,

in the law of

Moses, the Lord

had told them,

if they kept

covenant with

the Lord.

All these

blessings would

come upon them.

Blessed would

be the fruit of

their womb.

Blessed would

be their land.

Blessed would

be their cattle,

their basket,

their kneading

bowl.

Their enemies

would be defeated.

They would be

established.

All of these

blessings would

come upon the

people of God

if they kept

covenant with

the Lord.

But it also

says, if they

were faithless,

if they broke

covenant with

the Lord.

He says,

the Lord will

bring you and

your king,

whom you set

over you,

to a nation that

neither you nor

your fathers have

known.

They shall

besiege you in

all your towns

until your high and

fortified walls in

which you trusted

come down throughout

all your land.

What I want us to

understand is that

this dark moment in

the history of God's

people was exactly

what God had warned

them would happen

if they rebelled

against the Lord.

And he didn't just

warn them once.

This wasn't just a

one-time thing.

This is what the

prophets warned the

people of God about

time and time and

time and time again.

Jeremiah warned them

this was coming.

Chapter 21,

chapter 25.

Isaiah prophesied

this moment.

Isaiah 39,

Isaiah 39:6

verse 6.

It's like when you

get pulled over by a

police officer for

speeding.

Now you're going to

have to imagine,

because I know all of

you drive the speed

limits, right?

You get pulled over

by a police officer.

You knew the law.

You knew you were

driving too fast.

You knew you should

have buckled up and

followed the rules,

but you get pulled

over and just imagine

he says, I will let

you off with a warning

this time.

And then he walks

back to his car.

The wise response for

us would be buckle up,

drive away very slowly,

obey the law from now

on, do exactly as he

said.

But instead of doing

that, we slam our

foot on the gas and

we speed away 89

miles an hour down

the road.

And then another

police officer comes

and he warns us the

same thing.

You better not go

over the speed limit.

I'll give you a

warning this time.

Same thing, we speed

off down the road

another police officer

time and time and

time and time and

time again.

These officers are

far more merciful and

patient than any I've

come in contact with,

right?

But at some point,

your lawlessness is

going to catch up with

you.

Justice demands that

your lawlessness be

punished.

And for Israel, that

time has come right

now.

This dark moment in

history is God's

judgment on their

rebellion.

But you know, one of

the beautiful parts of

reading biblical

history is that we

don't only get the

view from the ground,

so to speak, from a

human vantage point.

We get the view from

the air.

We get the Lord's

vantage point.

Now again, from the

ground, from a sheerly

human point of view,

all of this looks

hopeless.

Now all of this looks

like the world itself is

caving in and everything

is falling apart.

The bad guys have come

in.

The city is destroyed.

It looks like evil has

won.

But Daniel gives us

another perspective.

Look to verse 2.

He says,

The Lord gave Jehoiakim,

king of Judah,

into his hand.

The Lord gave.

These three words

completely change the

lens through which we

look out and interpret

all the affairs of human

history.

Now I realize we haven't

made much progress in

Daniel chapter 1, right?

Daniel 1 · chapter mention

Yeah, I think we will.

I'm going to try to.

But I want to make this

point first because this

is a theme that runs

throughout the entire

book of Daniel.

God is the king of

human history.

God is the king of all

the nations of the earth.

God is the sovereign

ruler of all the affairs

of man.

everything that happens

in human history,

all the events of human

history, big and small,

significant and seemingly

meaningless.

All of them from

beginning to end are in

the hands of a good and

sovereign God.

Whatever happens here,

God is king.

Who is responsible for

this exile?

From a human vantage point,

Nebuchadnezzar saw and

Nebuchadnezzar came, he

saw and Nebuchadnezzar

conquered, right?

But from the divine

perspective, Daniel says

the Lord gave.

I'm hammering this point

because Daniel, he repeats

this for us.

I feel like this is an

emphasis for him.

In fact, three times in

this chapter, you see that

phrase over and over and

over again, the Lord gave.

The Lord gave Jehoiakim,

king of Judah, into the

hands of Nebuchadnezzar,

verse 2.

The Lord gave Daniel favor

and compassion in the

sight of the chief of the

eunuchs, verse 9.

The Lord gave Daniel and

his friends learning and

skill in all literature and

wisdom, verse 17.

That repetition is

intentional.

Daniel, he wants to

comfort exiles with the

truth of the sovereignty

of God.

So that we no longer see

history or current events

just from an on-the-ground

perspective, but rather we

learn to see things from the

divine perspective.

That whatever may come to

pass, God is king.

Nothing happens apart from

his sovereign decree.

Nothing is given to you but

by his sovereign hand.

God is king.

Now, that's bad news for a

faithless people.

That's bad news for those who

are still in rebellion against

the Lord.

He is patient with you.

He is slow to anger, but he

is just.

And the time will come when

justice will demand pain for

lawlessness.

His kindness and patience is

meant to lead you to

repentance.

It's bad news for those who

rebel against the Lord, but

for those who do trust in the

Lord, church, his kingship is a

glorious comfort, is it not?

And when the world around us

seems to have lost its ever

loving mind, and when the

place where we live seems like

it's crumbling to the ground,

when everything looks dark, and

from our perspective it looks

hopeless, we remember and we

take comfort in the fact that

God is king.

Here at the beginning of the

book of Daniel, I want us to see

that we, Christian, we have far

more in common with Daniel than we

might tend to think.

Church, we, like Daniel, are

exiles.

The book of 1 Peter, what we

read this morning, it calls us,

it calls Christians sojourners

and exiles.

You realize we, you and I, we as

Christians are citizens of another

kingdom.

Scott reminded me of an old song a

couple weeks ago in the men's

Bible study.

I wish he was here because he

would love that I quoted it.

This world is not my home.

I'm just a passing through.

Y'all know this one.

My treasures are laid up somewhere

beyond the blue.

The angels beckon me from heaven's

open door and I can't feel at home

in this world anymore.

Y'all know that one.

Is that true of you?

See, Christian, we are exiles.

Make no mistake, America, as many

blessings as we have here, as

wonderful as this place may be.

America is not a lasting home for

us.

It wasn't so 10 years ago or 30

years ago or 50 years ago or 100

years ago and it will not be so 100

years in the future unless the Lord

returns.

America is not the promised land.

Church, we need to understand where

we live, America is just our little

corner of Babylon.

And if that's true, then we shouldn't

be surprised by any evil that surrounds

us here.

We shouldn't be surprised when leaders

fail us.

We shouldn't be surprised when wars

break out.

We shouldn't be surprised when people

hate each other, when there's lawlessness

and godlessness all around us.

We should not be surprised.

Why?

Because this place is Babylon.

We're exiles here.

It shouldn't surprise us.

But it also shouldn't shake us.

Why?

Because we know that no matter what

happens here and now, God is king.

You know, sometimes the way Christians

react to current events and the way that

we talk or post on social media, we kind of

sound like Chicken Little, don't we?

The sky is falling.

The sky is falling.

Everything's crumbling to the ground.

The church, there's chaos all around us.

Make no mistake.

But we of all people ought to rest in the

sovereign rule of God, no matter what

happens here and now.

Amen?

Amen?

Instead of panicking over the question, what

has this world come to?

I think the church ought to spend more time

asking the question, how can we, Christian,

how can we, Siwe Bay, remain distinct during

our time of exile?

How can we remain distinct as God's people living

here in foreign territory?

Which is why the second truth we must remember.

Number one, God is king.

And number two, praise God, you are his.

You are his.

Now let's see Daniel's story.

Verse three, it says that not only did Nebuchadnezzar

bring the vessels of God out of the house of God

and put them into the house of his God,

but he also sent Ashpenaz to bring out some of the

best people out of Israel, out of the royal family

and of the nobility.

It says youths without blemish, of good appearance

and skillful in all wisdom.

They're endowed with knowledge and understanding

and learning and they're competent to stand

in the king's palace.

These teenagers at this point, these men

were the cream of the crop.

They're young, they're intelligent, they're influential,

they're nobility and most importantly,

or at least as Nebuchadnezzar thought,

they were impressionable.

It says in verse four that he was going to teach them

the literature and the language of the Chaldeans

and he assigns them a daily portion of food

that the king himself ate.

This was good food.

And a portion of wine that the king himself drank.

This is good wine.

And it's going to go on like this for three years.

Now at the end of this period of three years,

these men would stand before the king.

That was the plan.

His plan was cultural indoctrination.

And this is a strategy.

To take the best and the brightest of Israel,

of Judah, to take the best and the brightest

and to make them now good, educated, successful Babylonians.

See, his strategy was he didn't just want to conquer them.

He wanted to absorb them.

They would learn the literature of Babylon.

They would learn the language of Babylon.

Not only this, they would even be given new Babylonian names.

I remember growing up,

multiple times my mom correcting anybody and everybody

who would call me anything besides Jonathan.

Right?

That was the name my mama gave me.

Nobody was allowed to shorten it.

If they called me John,

I remember her correcting them,

no, his name is Jonathan.

There was meaning behind that name.

My dad's name is David.

And biblically in the Bible,

you know the Old Testament,

David and Jonathan were best friends.

And it had meaning to that name.

She didn't want anybody changing that name.

Well, names in the ancient Near East culture were significant.

They carried meaning.

They meant something.

And so what Nebuchadnezzar is trying to do here

is he's stripping away any reference to Israel's God

and he's replacing them.

He's redefining them in terms of the false Babylonian gods.

This is an attempt to redefine who they are.

So Daniel, which meant God is judge,

is now Belt-Shazzar,

which is a reference to the false god Bel.

Hananiah, which meant Yahweh is gracious,

is now Shadrach at the command of Aku.

That's a reference to the moon god.

Mishael, which meant who is what God is,

is now Mishak, who is what Aku is.

Azariah, which meant Yahweh helps,

is now Abednego, servant of Nego,

the god of wisdom.

You see what's going on here?

Nebuchadnezzar is trying to take the people of the Lord

and convince them from the inside out

that no, now you belong to me,

you belong to my people,

you belong to my culture,

you belong to my gods.

This was a plan of cultural indoctrination.

Well, Daniel knew what was up, didn't he?

He could see the plan.

And so, for this reason,

verse 8 says,

Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself

with the king's food.

You know, a lot has been made

of Daniel's decision here.

This is where, I guess,

I guess this is where people get the Daniel diet, right?

And the diet may be just fine.

It would probably be good for some of us

to eat a little bit more veggies.

Amen? Right?

But may I suggest

that that is missing the point just a little bit.

This is not a divinely inspired meal plan

for us to follow.

The point isn't the food or the diet.

Don't get hung up on the food.

The point is that Daniel and his friends,

they're resisting at whatever level they can,

becoming a Babylonian,

even while they're living stuck here in Babylon.

He knows that God is king.

He knows that he belongs to him

wherever he may be,

Jerusalem or Babylon.

And because of this,

he knows that he and the rest of God's people

are called to be distinct

from the nations around them.

And he knows that Nebuchadnezzar,

king of Babylon,

is trying everything he can

to turn Daniel and his friends

into good Babylonians.

And so he resists.

Now notice here

how Daniel resists.

Just really quickly here

because I think this is appropriate

for us by way of application.

He's not loud.

He's not obnoxious.

He doesn't pitch a fit.

He doesn't protest

or post a social media rant

or cause a scene

about how unfair everything is here in Babylon

for him and his Jewish friends.

He doesn't dig in his heels

and say,

Jehoiakim's my king,

not Nebuchadnezzar.

I know very humbly,

very respectfully,

and certainly prayerfully,

knowing what we know about Daniel,

he asks the chief eunuchs

to allow him to not defile himself.

And we see that God the king

gave Daniel favor and compassion.

And so verse 11,

it tells us that they came to a deal.

Ten days.

You got ten days.

Give us some veggies and water.

See for yourself.

Test us in ten days.

See what we look like.

And at the end of the ten days,

verse 15,

it says that they were better in appearance

and fatter in flesh

than all the youths

who ate the king's food.

And so the steward took away

their food and wine

that they were supposed to drink

and instead gave them vegetables.

What we see here

is that the Lord honored

their faithfulness to him.

The Lord honored their desire

to be distinct in exile.

And what was the result?

Look to verse 17.

God gave them learning

and skill and wisdom.

And he gave Daniel

understanding and visions and dreams.

And after three years of faithfulness,

after three years

of resisting the pressures

to become good Babylonians,

three years of clinging

to their identity

as the people of God,

the time has come

that came before the king.

And verse 20 says

he found them ten times better

than all the magicians

and enchanters

that were in all his kingdom.

He was vindicated

in his resolve

to remain distinct in exile.

You know,

this is the beginning of a theme,

again,

that we're going to see

over and over and over again

in this book of Daniel.

God's people are here.

They're exiles in Babylon.

They're pressured

and they're threatened,

yet they remain distinct in exile.

And at the end,

they are honored and vindicated.

And we'll see this theme

again and again and again.

And we need to understand,

Christian,

that this is our pattern as well.

We are here in exile.

We are going to be pressured

to succumb to the pressures

in the culture of Babylon.

And those who remain distinct

at the end

when we stand before

the King of Kings,

we will be honored

and vindicated.

We have to remember,

church,

the time will come,

whether in this life

and certainly in the one to come,

when all of God's people

who remain faithful

in their time of exile

will be vindicated.

vindicated.

The world may look at us funny

right now

as we make efforts

to be distinct.

We may be strange now,

but the time will come

when we will all stand

before the true King

and all who remain distinct

will be vindicated.

But until that day comes,

friend,

we must do as Daniel does

in this passage.

We must remember

that God is King

and that we are His.

I had a seminary professor

who used to say often,

you know,

the most important thing

about you

is not who you are,

it's whose you are.

The most important thing

about you

is not who you are,

it's not where you happen

to grow up,

it's not where you live,

it's not what college sports team

you root for,

it's not what hobbies you have,

it's not what your interests are.

If you've put your faith

in Jesus Christ

by the grace of God,

the most important thing

about you

is that you belong to Him.

That you are a citizen

of the kingdom of God.

Wherever He may have you

here on this earth,

that's your identity.

And if we are citizens

of His kingdom,

then just like Daniel,

we need to be aware

that the ruler

of this present phase

of Babylon

is going to do anything

and everything He can

to make you

a good Babylonian.

Church,

we need to be aware

that the tactics

against God's people

have not changed

one single bit.

Think with me here

about Nebuchadnezzar's strategy

just for a moment,

really it's threefold.

Think about it.

How did He seek

to conquer God's people?

How did He seek

to make them Babylonians?

It's a three-part strategy.

It really is brilliant.

Separation,

satisfaction,

satisfaction,

satisfaction.

It's a three-part strategy

of Babylon.

Separation,

saturation,

satisfaction,

and nothing has changed.

Tactic number one

was separation.

He took these men away.

He took them away

from God's people,

took them away

from corporate worship,

took them away

from instruction

in the Word of God.

He took them away

from their place,

away from their people,

away from their practices.

Tactic number one

was that He separated them.

Don't you think

the enemy wants to do that

with you, Christian?

The enemy would love

nothing more

than to separate you

from the people of God.

He would love nothing more

than to separate you

from the gift

of corporate worship,

from the gift

of instruction

in the Word of God.

Do not take gatherings

like this

with God's people

for granted.

You know that this,

of all the places

of the world,

this is the closest

that we will get

to heaven

on this side

of eternity.

You know the local church

is an embassy

of the kingdom of God

here on earth?

Don't take this gathering

for granted.

There are Christians

all over the world

who long

for what we have here.

Do not let the enemy

separate you.

Tactic number two

was saturation.

He not only took them

from their religious culture,

he also saturated them

with his pagan culture.

Do you see this?

He taught them

all the books.

He taught them

the language.

He gave them new names.

He poured this

cultural system

right down their throats.

And again,

don't you realize,

the playbook

hasn't changed a bit.

The television shows

that we watch

are not neutral.

The news that we consume

is not neutral.

The books that we read

are not neutral.

The music that we listen to

is not neutral.

The culture that we live in

is not neutral.

Our neighbors that we talk to

are not neutral.

Everywhere we turn,

the enemy is seeking

to saturate you

with lies.

The church needs

to develop discernment.

We need to watch

what we eat.

Our call as exiles

here in Babylon

is as Paul calls us

in Romans 12,

do not be conformed

to the patterns

of this world,

but instead be what?

Be transformed

by the renewal

of your mind.

We're called

to take every thought

captive

and make it obedient

to Christ.

Are we careful

what we're saturating

our minds with,

church?

Are we careful

what we're saturating

our hearts with?

If we're not actively

clinging to the truth

of God's word,

we will passively drift

into the lies

of the culture.

Separation,

saturation,

and tactic number three,

satisfaction.

He saturated them

with pagan culture

and he wanted them

to like it.

And notice this,

he didn't feed them

with scraps,

did he?

And what did he want

to feed them with?

What did he want

them to eat?

He wanted them

to have the king's best food,

the food that the king

himself ate,

the wine that the king

himself drank.

He wanted them

to have the best,

the richest,

the fattest,

the most delicious meat

that he possibly could.

He wanted them

to drink the king's

own supply of wine.

He wanted to seduce

and satisfy them

into thinking,

well, maybe this place

isn't so bad after all.

Maybe this king

is nicer than we thought.

Maybe Jerusalem

wasn't so great

after all.

And again,

the playbook

has not changed.

Church,

the devil's favorite tool

is not pain.

It's pleasure.

He wants you

to love sin.

The devil wants

to wine and dine you

with the pleasures

of Babylon,

but he always hides

the price

and he never pays

the bill.

It's like when you go

to one of these

fancy restaurants

that doesn't have

prices on the menu

and you eat yourself

full,

whatever you want.

You buy an appetizer

and main course

and three desserts

and then the bill

comes due.

And you realize

the cost

of satisfying

your appetites.

Friend,

we would be wise

to count

the cost

now

before the bill

comes due.

If you haven't

figured this out yet,

the enemy's tactics

have not changed

a single bit.

The tactic of Babylon

in every age

is to separate you

from the ways

of God,

to saturate you

with the ways

of this world

and to make sure

you like it.

our call

as God's people,

our call

as exiles

living here

in foreign territory

is to say

wherever God

has placed me,

whatever evil

I face,

I will be set

apart from the ways

of the world,

I will be saturated

with the word

of God,

I will satisfy

my heart

and the Lord

above all else.

Are you committed

to this?

if you are

His,

your call

is to live

your life

here in exile

faithfully

to the King

of Kings.

Your call

is to be

distinct

in exile.

Why?

Because despite

whatever the

apparent appearance

of defeat

may be,

we know

the truth,

church.

We know

the truth

of the gospel

that God

has done

for you

in much

more powerful,

much more

eternal

and effective

ways

what Nebuchadnezzar

only attempted

and failed

to do

with Daniel

and his friends.

Church,

the good news

of the gospel

is that God

has sent

His own Son

to live

and to die

and to rise

in our place

in order

to bring

us out

of our

state

of lawlessness

and into

His marvelous

grace.

The good news

of the gospel

is that the

Son of God

Himself

bore the

punishment

that we

deserve

for our

sin

so that He

might call

us out

of belonging

to this

present darkness

and make us

citizens

of the

kingdom

of God.

The good

news of the

gospel is that

God has

separated

you

from belonging

to this place

and given

you a new

identity

as His

Son and

His

daughter.

The good

news of the

gospel is that

by faith

in Christ

God has

saturated

you.

He has

filled you

with His

own Holy

Spirit.

The good

news of the

gospel is that

God has

worked a

miracle in

us by

giving us

a new

heart

that hates

sin and

loves the

Lord.

He has

satisfied

you with

the goodness

of God

and the

glory of

Jesus Christ.

That's the

gospel.

church.

This is what

God has

done for

you in

Christ.

And although

it looks

dark now,

our certain

hope of the

gospel is that

when He

comes,

Babylon will

be judged

and we

as God's

people will

be vindicated.

Revelation

Revelation 2:17

2 verse

17 tells us

we will be

given a new

name.

Given to

us by our

King.

Do you

believe this?

Is this

your hope?

Friend, if

you have

not put

your faith

in King

Jesus,

the time

is now.

What keeps

you from

saying right

now that I

see that Babylon

is a sinking

ship, I want

no part of

it, I want

to belong to

the King of

Kings, I put

my faith in

King Jesus

right now.

What prevents

you?

And for

us, church,

as we live

here in

exile, our

call is to

help one

another to

remain

distinct

while we're

on temporary

assignment here

in America.

You know, I

didn't tell you

the full story

about my

Chinese

neighbors.

the friends

who came

were gathering

to have a

Chinese cultural

experience, but

the host who

gathered her

friends there for

dumpling night, she

was a Christian.

And she wasn't

just having a

Chinese cultural

experience, although

that was part of

it.

She was using

these gatherings

as an opportunity

to share the

good news of

Jesus with

her Chinese

brothers and

sisters.

You see, she

understood that

wherever the

Lord had her, be

it China, be

it Milledgeville,

Georgia, wherever

the Lord had

her, the most

important thing

about her was

not who she

was, but who

she was.

She knew that

God is king and

that she belonged

to him.

Now, her call was

to remain distinct

here in exile and

to call as many

as she possibly

could to come

with her out

of Babylon.

And church, that's

our call as

well.

Are you

prepared to

resist the

influence around

us?

To resist the

urge to primarily

identify ourselves

with anything other

than the call of

God and Christ

Jesus for you?

God is king and

we are his.

Let's pray.

Lord, we need

your grace.

We need your

help.

We know even as

we've already

prayed, we are

prone to wonder,

each one of us.

And Lord, it's so

easy to be

deceived and

lured astray by

the pleasures and

the enticements of

the world around

us.

But God, we know

that, Father, in

your presence there

is fullness of

joy.

And at your

right hand there

are pleasures

forevermore.

There is no

pleasure that you

would withhold

from us.

It's all found

in Christ.

And so we pray,

Lord, that we

would look forward

to the kingdom

to come.

That we would

long for the

return of Christ.

That we would

live as distinct

exiles here in

Babylon.

We love you,

Lord.

We pray this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.